Makes Me Happy
by BeachBum84
Summary: Twenty-six year old Drake Parker is just trying to find the things in life that will make him happy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. My life would be a lot more interesting if I did.**

**A/N: The idea for this story came from listening to Drake Bell's songs all day. It's a future fic. I hope you guys enjoy it. Please review and let me know what you think. The rating might change to 'M' in future chapters.**

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"Would you like any coffee, sir?" The flight attendant asked a 26 year old Drake Parker.

"No, thanks. Do you know how long until we get there?" Drake asked.

"Less than an hour until we reach New York." She replied.

Drake gave a weak smile. "Thanks." He said. He noticed the flight attendant hesitate before moving on to check to the next passenger.

"I hate to bother you by asking... but could I have your autograph? My little sister is such a huge fan and..."

"Sure thing." Drake replied, turning to a blank page in the notebook that he had been writing in. "What's you're sister's name?"

"Tiffany."

Drake scribbled down a quick message and then carefully ripped the page out. He handed it to the flight attendant with as much of a smile as he could manage.

"Thank you so much." She said gratefully. "Let me know if you need anything. Enjoy the rest of the flight."

Drake looked down at his notebook and sighed. He had been trying to write a new song but nothing was coming to him. He decided to give up, putting his notebook back in his bag. He looked out the window. In an hour he would be home.

Well, in about two hours he would be back at his apartment. It wasn't quite home like California had been, but it was the best he had. A month hiding out in London hadn't done what he thought it would. He needed to get back to New York. He hadn't talked to his family in a month, or his manager, or anyone really.

Drake sighed again and wondered how things got like this. He had been such a happy kid. He was popular and things came easily for him. Now...

Maybe it started when Josh left for college. It had affected Drake more than he thought it would. Suddenly, Drake felt like he was on his own. Their room felt empty with most of Josh's possesions on the other side of the country with him. Drake focused on his music.

No, things didn't get weird because of Josh. Things were still going well for Drake. He didn't have to go to college to be successful. He could make it on his own.

He was so happy to move to New York. He was working on his record. He would visit Josh at school. It gave him a chance to go to college parties and flirt with college girls. Josh wasn't big on the partying, mostly he would hang out with Mindy, who was attending Harvard with him. Life was good for Drake though.

The first record was a hit. Drake was touring, fans adored him. Girls were an ever present force in his life. He wrote more songs, went out with more girls. His life was still pretty normal. It was everything he had done in highschool except on the road.

"Attention passangers, we are preparing our descent. Please fasten your seatbelts and return your trays to the upright position. Thank you for flying with us." The voice on the intercom interupted Drakes thoughts.

He felt his stomach turn. This was it. He had done a good job avoiding press while in London, but he had run into a reporter in the airport in London. He had an awful feeling there would be some more when he landed in New York. There was probably some new rumor flying around involving him. He had a worse feeling that it had to do with Katie.

Katie Winters, model and Drake's ex-girlfriend. Drake's first real love. They had met when they were 22. It wasn't quite love at first sight, more like they hated eachother. It was all Katie's fault. They were at an award show. Drake hadn't wanted to go, it had nothing to do with music, but his manager made him go. He had to be out in the public to promote his new cd.

Drake didn't like most award shows. He hated being around all the fake people, which most of the people there were. He would much rather be performing and hanging out with his fans. He didn't want people talking to him and taking his picture just because he was famous. He wanted it to be because they were a fan of his music.

Katie, well she loved the award shows. She lived to have her picture taken. She needed to be center of attention. Drake had no idea who she was, and that made her furious.

It was all so stupid when Drake thought about it now. She threw a fit over something Drake couldn't even remember saying. Drake had been amused by this and it infuriated her more. She insulted his music and at that, Drake had to fight back.

For months they faught whenever they were at the same event. It all came to a head at a club in New York. They had both been drinking with their seperate groups. Katie came over and dumped a pitcher of beer on Drake's head. They took the fight outside. Drake started to walk home, not wanting to deal with her. He hated her, and Drake wasn't the type to hate people.

She followed him and finally he stopped and screamed at her. The next thing he knew, her lips were on his. It was all her fault. She pushed him in ways no one else did and soon they had been stumbling into his apartment. Being with Katie... it was never gentle. It was angry, it was passionate, it was hatred. It was never gentle, and it was never love. The tender moments were few and very very far between but Drake still found himself head over heels for this girl, convinced that that was what love is.

The plane landed and Drake put on a pair of sunglasses. He wished he had a hat of some kind, but he really hadn't thought about it. He wasn't so famous that there were always photographers following him around. It was only when he was promoting a new album, or of course if there was a juicy rumor floating around. He put his backpack on his shoulders and took a deep breath, preparing to face the world.

It wasn't until after he got his bags that the reporters found him. "Drake! Drake!" They tried to get his attention. Drake just kept walking. He tried to get a cab and a reported was right in front of him. "Drake, is it true that you're the father of Katie Winter's baby?"

Drake froze on the spot. "What? What baby?" He asked in shock.

"Katie Winters just announced this morning that she's three months pregnant. She's telling everyone that you're the father." The reporter said.

Drake laughed. He hadn't meant to but it was so absurd. Pregnant? She couldn't be. "I'm not... I can't be... we broke up six months ago."

"That doesn't mean you guys didn't..."

Drake felt anger building inside. "I wish her luck, but the kid's not mines." Drake said firmly before getting into the cab.


	2. Chapter 2

Drake was furious by time he reached his apartment in Brooklyn. Leave it to Katie to find another way to mess with his life. He glared at the boxes all around the apartment. He hadn't bothered unpacking before now. He had moved out of Manhattan after his latest break up with Katie. That move had been the hardest. Somehow, if he didn't unpack the boxes then he didn't really move, and if he didn't really move then it wasn't really over. Drake opened the first box he came across. It was over, it had to be. 

His relationship with Katie was rocky at it's best. Katie was selfish, spoiled, spiteful, jealous... Drake found it hard to believe that he was ever with someone like that for so long. A week after they first slept together, Katie moved into his apartment. More accurately, she took over his apartment. She took over everything. Drake felt like he was a hostage in his own life most of the time.

She ruined everything. She strained his relationship with his family. Megan absolutely hated her. Whenever Megan and Katie were in the same room it was like clash of the titans. She would destroy anything of Drake's when she got mad enough. She was mean to his mom and Walter, downright cruel to Josh. That had been the breaking point on more than one occasion.

They would fight, she would sleep with someone else. Drake would sleep with someone else. Either Drake would kick her out or she would move out on her own in a violent fury. A month or two later Katie would be there when Drake got home, all her things back in their place as if she never left. She would always sit on the arm of the couch, facing the door, with a pout on her face. Her touches would be gentle and she would whisper how sorry she was in his ear. It was those moments that always cracked Drake's resolve. She was a force of nature and Drake couldn't help but be caught up in her.

Four hours later the last box was unpacked. Drake hit the button on the answering machine to listen to messages before falling on the couch. There were about a dozen from his manager, about one a week from his mom, at least 2 dozen from Josh. All of them wondering where he went and when he'll be back. There was also one from Megan that said, "Idiot. Call me when you get back."

He might as well start calling people. With a sigh he picked up the phone and dialed Josh's number.

Josh picked up on the third ring, "Hello?"

"Hey, Josh. It's me."

"Drake! Where have you been?"

"London." Drake replied. He heard some noise in the background. "Is that Mindy?"

"Yeah, she's wondering if you've heard of something called a 'cell phone'?"

"I left it at home." Drake said. He heard stomping on the other end of the phone. "Is she mad?"

"She's a little annoyed that you disappeared without calling. She'll be okay as long as you weren't hiding out with Katie. You weren't... were you?"

"No, I wasn't. I just wanted to get away." Drake assured him. Mindy had become concerned about Drake after she witnessed a particularly cruel fight between Drake and Katie. Over the years, Mindy had become like a sister to Drake, especially after she married Josh.

"So... London? Did you have fun?" Josh asked.

"I was hoping being there would clear my head, but it didn't work as well as I planned."

"Well, if you ever want to come out here and relax, you're more than welcomed to. We've missed you. Emily is growing so fast."

"Yeah, how is my niece doing?"

"She's crawling around a lot, getting into everything. It'll be no time before she's running around." Josh said, sounding like a proud father.

"I'll try and get out there in a week or so."

"Great." Josh said cheerfully. There was distant talking on the other end of the phone again. "Ummm... Mindy wants me to ask you..."

"It's not mine." Drake said.

Drake heard Josh give a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. Someone called here this morning and asked and..."

"That's what has Mindy in a mood?" Drake offered.

"Well, she's a little stressed. She's working on a big case, but yeah, that too. You better call mom and dad. Oh, and Megan called here looking for you, too."

Drake groaned. "They're pissed, aren't they? What did they say?"

"Mom just sounded annoyed. Megan mentioned something about certain torment if you 'fathered the devil's spawn.' Those were her words."

"Alright. I'll do that now. I'll call you later."

"Okay, good luck." Josh said before hanging up.

Drake looked at the phone for a minute, debating wether to deal with his parents or Megan first.

He dialed the number for his parent's house, they might be easier to convince.

"Hello?" Walter answered the phone.

"Hey, it's me."

"Drake!" Walter said sounding happy. "Oh, Drake..." He said sounding less happy.

"Is that Drake?" He heard his mom yell.

"Umm... your mom wants to talk to you. Just tell me..."

"It's not mine!" Drake said.

"Okay, Good... Well, it's good to hear from you. Here's your mom..." Walter said.

"Drake Parker! Where have you been? Please tell me that you did not get that girl pregnant!" His mom yelled into the phone.

"London. and No, I didn't." Drake said.

"Are you sure?"

"Mom, I think I would remember if I did something like that!" Drake exclaimed.

"Okay, sorry. It's just when we heard..."

"Yeah, everyone's angry. So am I. I don't know why she's telling everyone that."

"I'm sorry. She's just... well..."

"A bitch?" Drake offered.

"Yeah. So, you're back home? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. My arm's doing better. I tried to play the guitar the other day and it didn't hurt so much anymore."

"That's great. You'll be playing as well as before in no time."

"Thanks. I'm going to try and call Megan, I heard she's mad."

"Yeah, well... you know your sister." His mom and Walter discovered Megan's evil side during an eventful Christmas when Drake was stupid enough to bring Katie home with him.

"Yeah..." Drake had to admit he was dreading talking to Megan. "Love you, Mom."

"Love you too."

Drake dialed Megan's cell phone number. It just barely rang once when... "You complete boob! What were you thinking? How could you? She's evil! I thought you guys broke up! Why..."

"Missed you too, Megan." Drake said, cutting her off.

"Don't start! I can't believe you..."

"It isn't mine!"

Megan paused. "Really?"

"Yes, really!" Drake said, feeling a little annoyed that his family had so little faith in him.

"Sorry. I had to make sure."

"Whatever." Drake said.

"Don't 'whatever' me. It wouldn't be the first stupid thing you've done."

"It's over. I'll never get back together with her."

"Are you home? I'm coming over."

"You don't have to. I'm tired. I just finished unpacking."

"I'm in Brooklyn anyway. I'll be there in ten minutes." Megan said before hanging up, leaving no chance for arguement.

Twenty minutes later Megan knocked on the door. "You're late." Drake joked after opening the door.

"I stopped at the store. I figured you don't have any food here." Megan said handing a couple of bags to Drake.

Drake felt confused as he looked down at the bags in his hands. "I'm scared... This is almost like a kind sisterly thing to do..."

"Well, If you don't eat, then you starve and die. And if you starve and die, I won't be able to torture you."

Drake looked unconvinced.

"If it makes you feel any better, I have no intentions of cooking. You can do that on your own." Megan said. "Now go put those away, I'm not mom."

Drake put the groceries away while Megan surveyed the apartment. Drake returned to the livingroom. "So, How's school?"

Megan shrugged. "Kinda boring. The only good thing is that there's a lot of people around to torture." She looked at her watch. "I should be going."

"Already?"

"Yeah, I'm in Brooklyn because my roommate's boyfriend lives out here and he's having a party. I just stopped by to make sure you're alright."

"I am."

Megan gave Drake a hug. "Don't disappear like that anymore. We worry about you."

Drake gently patted Megan's back. He was still getting use to Megan being affectionate. She's been that way ever since the accident. Not overly so, just an extra hug every so often. "I'm fine." He reassured her.


	3. Chapter 3

Drake woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He didn't reach it in time because he couldn't find it. He spent the next half hour walking around with his apartment phone, calling his cell phone and trying to follow the sound.

"Oh, Man." Drake muttered as the voicemail answered again. He thought he had been close that time. He hit redial again and listened carefully. It sounded like it was coming from the right side of the room, but Drake had already checked there. He began to wonder if he was even looking in the right room.

The ringing stopped and Drake sighed. "One more time. Come on phone, Where are you?" He said, hitting redial again. He moved to the right. He was sure that's where the sound was coming from. He checked behind the pile of magazines. Inside the sneakers that were laying nearby. The only thing left to check was the guitar case.

"Aha!" Drake shouted, pressing his ear to the guitar case in time to hear the last ring of the phone before it went to voicemail. He sat on the floor and opened the guitar case. "Now, phone. How did you wind up in there?" He asked, holding his phone.

He was suddenly hit with a homesick feeling. How many times had he lost his phone when he was sharing a room with Josh? Josh would be studying and Drake would say, "Dude, call my cell phone." Most of the time Josh would wordlessly pick up his phone and call Drake's phone. Some of the times he would just toss his phone to Drake and say, "Call it yourself."

This would make Drake frown and whine, "I can't. Listening to the ringing in your phone distracts me from listening to the ringing of my phone!"

Josh would laugh and say, "You don't have to have hold the phone to your ear, just dial the number."

Drake would pout and Josh would give up and help Drake find his phone.

That's probably why it took Drake so long to find his phone this morning. Most of the time he couldn't help but hold the phone up to his ear after he dialed the number. He dialled Josh's number without really realizing it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mindy." Drake said, a little surprised with himself. "I didn't wake you, did I?" He asked. It was around 8am.

Mindy laughed. "No, Some of us are actually up before noon. I'm a little surprised to hear from you so early."

"Still adjusting to the time difference."

"Yeah, Josh told me you just got back from London. You think maybe you're next trip will be out here?"

"I was calling to say that I was thinking about going up there on Friday. Is that alright? I know it's kind of short notice..."

"It's fine, Drake." Mindy said, interupting him. "You know you can come anytime. Do you want to talk to Josh? He'll be happy to hear that."

"Yeah, sure." Drake said.

"Hey, Drake!" Josh said cheerfully into the phone.

"Hey. I was just telling Mindy that I'm coming up to visit on Friday."

"Fantastic! I didn't think you'd be up here so soon. I thought you'd be busy since you just got back. Don't get my wrong, I'm happy you're coming to visit."

"Well, I miss you."

"I miss you, too." Josh said. "Now tell me the truth. What's the real reason?"

"Things have just been so off lately. Between Katie and... and... I don't know if I can play the guitar anymore." Drake said, finally vocalizing his fears. He could almost hear Josh frowning.

"When was the last time you went to see a doctor?" Josh asked.

"Last week. I saw one in London. He says that my arm healed nicely. He said what I'm feeling might be some nervous pain."

"You mean 'nerve' pain?" Josh said, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Whatever." Drake muttered.

"Well, what did he say about it?" Josh asked.

"He said that I'm young and healthy and the little thingies in my arm should fix themselves and the pain will go away."

"See, that's good. Does it hurt a lot?"

"Only when I play my guitar."

There was a pause before Josh finally asked, "Have you ever thought... that maybe your guitar is the problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like... Maybe your arm hurts when you play the guitar... because you really don't want to play guitar right now."

"I do feel like I'm forcing myself whenever I do anything with my music lately..." Drake admitted softly. "Damn, I'm pathetic."

"Drake..."

"Hold on, there's another call." Drake glanced at the caller ID. It was his manager. Drake sighed, "I'm sorry, I gotta go."

"You gonna be alright?" Josh asked, sounding worried.

"Yeah... I'll see you Friday."

"Okay. See ya." Josh said.

"Hello?" Drake said answering the other line, after hanging up with Josh.

"Drake! Where have you been? How could you just disappear on me like that?" Tony, Drake's manager, asked.

"Sorry. It's complicated." Drake said.

"Look, We really need to talk about the new album. Do you think you can come in today?"

"I don't think so..." Drake said. He really didn't have an excuse, just the fact that he really didn't want to deal with this.

"And we have to talk about this Katie thing."

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm not the father!" Drake exclaimed much louder than he intended.

"Are you absolutely positive?"

"Yes, I haven't seen her in six months."

"Are you sure?" Tony asked.

Drake sighed. "I think I would remember that... I mean..."

"Drake, your accident was three months ago. I also know that you were leaving her hotel room right before it happened."

"Shit." Drake muttered. He hit his head a little harder than he intended as he laid back on the floor. The weight of what Tony had just said was sitting on his chest like a crushing force.

"So, I'll see you in an hour?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there." Drake said, feeling defeated.

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**A/N: I guess this chapter is more of a transition chapter than an actual plot driven chapter, but I hope you liked it anyway. Please review. I really want to know what people think so far. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Drake was bummed out when he left Tony's office. The meeting hadn't gone well. He would have to talk to Josh about it over the weekend. He got off the subway in his neighborhood and discovered that the dark clouds that had loomed threateningly overhead all day had finally decided to open up. He looked around to make sure that the two girls that had been talking to him on the subway weren't following him.

They had been nice, and Drake didn't want to be rude to his fans. Sometimes they just had the worst timing. They also rarely knew when to stop talking. For five stops it had been, "Congrats on the baby." "I'm sure you guys are going to have a beautiful baby." Drake had told them that the baby wasn't his. Something he was really hoping was the truth now.

The chatter then turned to. "Well, do you know who the dad is?" "Is there any chance you two will get back together? You guys make the cutest couple!" "Does Katie always look that beautiful?" "Are you working on any new songs?" They asked for autographs and took pictures with him. Now he just wanted some quiet.

Drake stepped into the small coffee shop to get out of the rain. His apartment was five blocks away and he was hoping that the downpour might let up in a bit. Besides, he needed a coffee fix.

He shook his head a little to try and shake the water out of his hair. Then, he ran his fingers across his bangs trying to get them to fall over his eyes the right way again. He was hoping no one would recognize him. He hadn't had his hair this way until right before he moved out to New York in the first place. Though, that really hadn't stopped the subway girls from spotting him.

There were a few people hanging around, they didn't really look like his fan base. Drake guessed that most of them were regulars because they seemed comfortable there. Like they were at home. Some of them looked at him when he entered but quickly lost interest. Drake made his way to a table in the corner.

"Melody, seriously, what is with you and that song?" A dark haired waitress said to a blonde waitress.

"It makes me happy!" The blonde, Melody, exclaimed.

"HaHa. That was lame." The dark haired waitress.

Drake looked up, feeling curious. Melody rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with it, Gabby? I like it."

"But it's... so old...You sound like a little teenybopper!"

"It's not that old." Melody said.

"Yeah, but that kind of stuff is okay when you're a teenager, but you're 25. Grow up a little. Listen to today's music. Stop singing things that came out when you were in high school."

Melody apparently decided to ignore Gabby's advice. "Make me happy. Make me want to sing, do do do dododo." She sang, she spun around and saw Drake sitting in the corner. She walked over to him.

Drake felt his heart jump. She was singing his song. What if she recognized him? He didn't want to deal with any more questions or anything. He felt the urge to bolt out of there, but she was right in front of him.

"Hey, How you doing? What can I get you?" She asked, taking out a notepad and pencil.

"Ummm..." Drake didn't know what he wanted. He had expected her to recognize him. "A coffee. Black with sugar."

Melody smiled and wrote it down. "Anything else? The blueberry muffins are fantastic today." She said cheerfully.

Drake calmed down a little. "A blueberry muffin sounds great."

Melody scribbled in her pad. "Be right back." She said, spinning around. Drake saw her bobbing her head as she hummed and got his order. Gabby glared at Melody as Melody danced past her.

Melody returned with the coffee and muffin. "Do do dododo do do dododo. Here ya go."

"Sir, tell her to stop singing that song, Please!" Gabby yelled. Melody spun around quickly and threw her notebook at Gabby.

She turned back to Drake. "Bitch!" She muttered. She looked apologetically to Drake. "Sorry, sir. Anything else?" her hand reached for her apron where she had been keeping her notebook. She sighed and let her shoulders drop as she threw a glance over her shoulder to where she had thrown it.

"No, thanks. So, you're a Drake Parker fan?" He asked, curiousity getting the better of him.

She looked at him, confused. Drake realized his mistake. She hadn't realized whose song she was singing. "The song you were singing..." He clarified, felling embarassed.

"Oh!" She smiled. "I guess. That song's just so... well, happy. Sometimes you have to sing something happy to keep from crying."

"You feel like crying?" Drake asked curiously.

Melody's smile faltered and her eyes darted back and forth. She looked like she had accidently given something away. She shrugged and opened her mouth to say something.

Before she could someone banged their hand loudly on the counter. "It's 3!" A man at the counter yelled.

"Demanding son of a..." Melody started to mutter under her breath. She looked at Drake and blushed slightly. "Sorry, just one of those days..." She said.

Drake watched her walk behind the counter and take off her apron. "Don't roll your eyes, Mel. The people demand your attention." Gabby said.

Melody stepped onto the counter. She had a spatula in her hand. Drake saw some of the men trying to look up Melody's skirt and wondered if he should say something. Melody spun and her skirt flaired a little and Drake noticed that she was wearing small black shorts under her skirt. Melody smiled at Drake as if she read his mind. "Sorry, guys. I'm not that kinda girl. You should know better." She said, looking down at the guys sitting at the counter.

"You never know when you might forget and wear something a little more... little." One of the men said.

"You're such a perv, Sam." Gabby said.

Melody laughed. "Any requests?" She asked.

"Anything from this year!" Gabby yelled. "Or at the very least, this century!"

Melody just held out her middle finger towards Gabby. "Anyone else?" A few people started shouting stuff.

Melody frowned and shook her head. She paced the counter. "You! Shaggy haired boy in the corner." She said stopping and pointing to Drake.

Drake looked surprised. "Me?" He asked.

Melody nodded. "Yeah, you. Pick a song. Pick something good."

Drake thought about it. He wanted to pick something she would want to sing. Everyone else had apparently missed the mark.

"Ummm... Build me up buttercup?" He suggested, hoping she knew it.

Gabby groaned loudly. "I said something from _this_ century!"

Melody looked thoughtful before smiling brightly. "Excellent choice." She turned to the rest of the shop. "Come on people. You guys are in here all the time and new guy knows me better than you."

Something about that sentence made Drake smiled. It felt like the first real smile he's smiled in months.

Melody cleared her throat. "Why do you build me up, build me up, buttercup baby just to let me down?" She sang into the spatula she was holding. She danced back and forth on the counter. She messed up a few notes because she was laughing, but to Drake, it was perfect. She closed her eyes and sang like it meant something to her. Drake had spent so much time around fake people the past few years that he had forgotten what it looked like for music to come from the heart.

When the song ended, everyone clapped and cheer. Melody hopped off the counter and got a white cup. She walked around to everyone and most people threw some loose change into the cup. She walked over to Drake.

"That was great." He said.

Melody blushed slightly. "I did it as a joke one day and they started requesting it. They're just being nice..."

"No. You're fantastic. Are you a singer?" Drake asked.

Melody shook her head. "Once upon a time I was a starving artist of another kind. So... Change for the poor?" She asked, holding out her cup.

Drake felt in his pockets. Disappointed, he pulled out his wallet. Not even a dollar, All he had were credit cards. "Damn" He muttered. He felt embarassed.

"Don't worry 'bout it." Melody said, she made a move to walk away.

"Wait." Melody turned back towards him. "What about if I take you out to dinner or something tonight?" Drake was surprised at himself.

Melody smiled. "That's sweet of you... but I wasn't that good."

"Really, it would make me feel better." Drake said. Would it? he wondered. It probably wouldn't hurt to have some company after the day he's had. It was better than sitting around an empty apartment.

Melody bit her lip thoughtfully. "If you're sure..."

"I'm sure."

She smiled. "I get off at 6. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." Drake smiled.

Melody walked away. A few minutes later, he walked over to the cash register. Melody was arguing with Gabby, who was holding Melody's notepad hostage. "Stop whining and take care of the customers!" Gabby said.

Melody pouted and rang up Drake's order. "Do you really need the notepad?" Drake asked.

Melody shrugged, still pouting. "I guess not but it's my notepad. I like it."

Drake wanted her to be happy but he couldn't deny that her pouty lips were making his knees a little weak. He handed over his credit card. Melody placed the reciept and pen on the counter for Drake to sign. "Okay, I'll see ya at 6..." She looked down at his credit card. "Drake." She said with a smile.

She handed the card back to him. Uh oh. This was it. She knew.

Melody must have noticed the slight panic in Drake's face. She leaned over the counter. "Don't worry. I won't tell." She whispered.

Drake smiled, feeling relieved. "Thanks. See ya later"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! So far, this is the happiest I've felt about one of my stories. I'm really having fun writing it. I hope you guys are enjoying it as well. **

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The rain had let up by time Drake nervously made his way back down to the coffee shop at six. He wasn't quite sure what he had been thinking. Well, he hadn't been thinking, the words had just kinda fell out of his mouth. He had to go. It would be so lame if he cancelled since he was the one who insisted they go out. He was just nervous. And Melody was so pretty. Not in the model-superficial way that Katie is. Melody is pretty in the down-to-earth, she-lights-up-a-room-with-her-smile, her-pout-makes-Drake-melt type of way. 

Melody smiled brightly when Drake entered.

"Gabs, I'm gone. See ya tomorrow." Melody said.

"K. You kids have fun." Gabby said.

Melody stopped in front of Drake. "How do I look? Should I stop at my apartment and change?"

Drake shook his head. "You look fantastic. Ready?" He opened the door for her.

"So, Where are we going?" She asked once they were outside.

Drake shrugged. "I was hoping you would know a good place to hang out."

Melody looked at him and smiled. "You don't know where we're going?"

Drake shook his head.

"You picked me up without any sort of plan?" Drake loved the amusement in her voice as she asked the question. It made him feel less nervous.

"I did the hard part. I asked you out." Drake said.

"That doesn't sound so hard."

"Yes, it was. A pretty girl like you, you could have had a boyfriend. A big, tough, scary boyfriend. I could have been taking my life in my own hands by asking you out. I didn't know." Drake said, with mostly a straight face.

"You think I'm pretty?" Melody asked, in a sweet sing-song voice.

Drake laughed, unable to keep a straight face any longer. "The truth is, it's my first week in the neighborhood. I don't know any place to hang out."

Melody looked at Drake expectantly. Drake kept his eyes straight, looking focused on where he was walking. He heard Melody sigh softly. He glanced at her and saw her biting her bottom lip. Drake laughed lightly. "Yes, I think you're very pretty. Man, you don't give a guy a chance to play it cool, do you?"

Melody laughed. "Go back to looking nonchalant and I'll pretend to be wondering if you think I'm pretty or not. I'll do it without sighing or biting my lip this time."

"The sigh was a little overdramatic, but you look cute when you bite your lip like that. Actually, don't bite your lip. That's what broke me last time." Drake said.

Melody blushed slightly. She looked up at the street sign. She grabbed Drake's hand as she turned the corner. "This way."

After passing two buildings, they stopped. "This place is cool. It'll be kinda quiet cuz it's the middle of the week, but they usually have local bands playing. This okay?" Melody asked.

"Sounds great." Drake said, letting Melody lead the way.

"Hey, Joey, What's up?" Melody asked the bartender as they sat at the bar. Drake recognized him as one of the customers from the coffee shop.

"Looks like it's going to be a slow night. How 'bout you get up and sing like you do in the shop? Maybe that'll draw the people in." Joey said.

Melody laughed. "Not drunk enough to sing in front of this lot. Maybe if you start sending some free drinks my way..."

"Maybe if you started giving me free muffins and coffee during the day. But, no, it's always, 'Joey, you know Gabby said...'"

"That's Gabby's fault. Not mines!"

"Yeah, Yeah. So what'll it be?" Joey asked.

"Beer, for me." Melody said. She looked at Drake.

"Beer." Drake said.

Joey placed two beers in front of them. "Put it on my tab." Melody said.

"You know, one of these days you're going to have to pay off your tab. Tab is not code for 'free drinks.'" Joey said.

"Tab is totally code for free drinks." Melody whispered to Drake.

"Are you sure? He's sort of a scary looking man. Maybe he was serious." Drake said. The dim lighting in the bar made Joey look even more intimidating than he had looked in the coffee shop.

"Nah. He may be tough looking but he's a really good guy." Melody looked over her shoulder. "Right, Joey? You're as gentle as a kitten."

"I'd watch it, Missy. If it wasn't for the fact that there's no one else in here, I would have to kick you out for trying to ruin my rep." Joey said seriously before smiling good-naturely.

Melody turned back to Drake. "Joey looks out for me. Especially since..." Melody trailed off, quickly swallowing half her beer.

Drake raised an eyebrow questioningly while finishing off his beer. "Since when?" He asked, putting his empty glass on the bar.

For the second time that day, Melody looked like she gave too much away. "It's a story for another day."

"So... that implies that you're going to keep me around?"

"I guess that does." Melody smiled, all her previous worry leaving her face. "I even think that it's safe to order a pitcher of beer. Seeing as you survived the first drink test."

"First drink test?" Drake asked.

She waved to Joey and pointed at a pitcher. Joey nodded and Melody turned to face Drake. "Yeah, you know how it is. You go out with someone and you realize within the first ten minutes that it's not going to work out. That's why it's best to start out with one drink. There's no commitment like a meal or even a pitcher of beer. That way after the drink you can make an excuse and run as soon as you finish the drink."

Drake laughed. "You seem to have this down to a science. You ditch a lot of guys after the first drink?"

"I don't see why you should complain. I'm keeping you around." She said lightly. Joey set the pitcher in front of them and Melody poured beer into Drake's glass.

"And now you're trying to get me drunk." Drake chuckled.

Melody poured beer into her glass. "It's free alcohol. If you really want to be in charge of your alcohol consumption, you could always pay for your drinks." She said, smiling brightly.

Melody took a drink of her beer and Drake watched her cheeks flush. "You're cute when you blush." He said nonchalantly.

Melody looked embarassed for a second. "I have that alcoholic flush already? Damn alcohol." She said covering her cheeks with her hands.

Drake laughed. "It's cute. Just like when you blushed in the coffe shop this afternoon."

"I blushed in the coffee shop?"

"You were swearing under your breath. Then, you blushed and apologized."

"Oh, God! And you still asked me out?"

Drake laughed again. "Like I said, it was cute. I find you very charming."

"Charming to you means swearing and blushing?"

"Well, there was also the singing. How could I not ask you out after that performance?"

"Yeah, the singing..." Melody said before sipping her beer. A look a relization came over her face and it looked like she was going to choke on her beer.

"You okay?" Drake asked, concerned. He put his hand gently on her arm.

Melody coughed a little before take a couple of more gulps of her beer. "I'm a complete and utter idiot!" She exclaimed. She turned towards the bar. She rested her elbows on the bar and then her head in her hands.

"Why? What's wrong?" Drake asked, moving his hand to gently rub her back.

"The singing!"

"What are you talking about?" Drake asked, feeling confused.

Melody sighed. "When you came in, I was singing that song 'Makes Me Happy.' I didn't know who sang it, it's just a song I always sing when I'm... Anyway, you asked if I was a Drake Parker fan. A question that was totally lost on me. Then, I saw your credit card and..."

"And you're just figuring all this out now?" Drake asked, an amused smile on his face.

"I'm slow! Alcohol induces rare moments of clarity!!" Melody whined into her hands. "Damn alcohol. And now you must think I'm... Well, I have no clue what you could be thinking."

Drake took Melody's hands and pulled her until she was facing him again. "First, I am highly amused by this revelation of yours and trust me, I needed some amusement after the day I've had. Second, I was embarassed after I asked the question and you had no clue what I was talking about. It was totally my fault. I guess I was just looking for an ego boost. Thirdly, You sang it beautifully. It's why you caught my attention in the first place. Not because it was my song, but because of how genuinely you sang it."

Melody gave a small smile. "At least my total and utter embarassment brought you much needed amusement."

"I'm glad you managed to focus on the important part of my speech." Drake joked.

"Sorry, I should be thanking you for being so sweet. Are you sure your a rock star? You seem to be too nice for that."

"I'm making an exception for you. Now, do you think I can get a hug and you can stop worrying?" Drake asked, opening his arms.

"I don't think Joey is giving out hugs today." Melody deadpanned.

"Ha ha." Drake laughed sarcastically. "Now come here."

Melody hopped off her bar stool and stepped into Drake's open arms. "Thanks." She muttered softly. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. She seemed so small because Drake was still sitting on his bar stool. Drake felt himself lean down to get closer to her mouth.

"Hey! Who's this?" A voice made the two of them jump.

"Jailbait!" Melody exclaimed. "Long time no see." Instead of jumping out of Drake's arms like he thought she would, she turned so her back was against Drake. She leaned comfortable against him and rested her arm on his leg. Drake smiled at how comfortable she seemed, and kept one arm loosely wrapped around her.

"Jailbait, this is Drake. Drake, this is Joey Junior." Melody said.

"Nice to meet you." Drake said, extending his hand.

Joey Jr. looked a little less than pleased as he shook Drake's hand. Drake noticed Melody reaching for her beer. Drake refilled the glass and handed it to her. She smiled a thanks before turning to Joey Junior.

"Come on, Kid. Don't look so sullen. Sometimes, albeit not often, but sometimes I do find a guy to have drinks with." Melody said.

Drake refilled his glass and saw Joey Jr. was eyeing the pitcher. Drake took a sip of his beer to keep himself from laughing.

"So, Jailbait, how come I haven't seen you around lately?"

"You know, you really should stop calling me that."

"You may be turning 18 in a couple of months, kid, but you'll always be jailbait to me." Melody said, reaching up and mussing with Joey Jr.'s hair.

He batted her hand away. "The band kind broke up for a couple of months. We finally decided to give it another try."

"Good, so you guys practicing here tonight?"

"Yeah." Joey Jr. glanced at the door as other kids entered. "Guess that means I should get set up."

"So, Jailbait?" Drake questioned softly in Melody's ear. This caused her to jump. She turned to face Drake. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot you were there. Well, I didn't forget you were there, I just wasn't thinking. I was just so comfortable. I'm sorry I was treating you like a piece of furniture." She retreated to her own barstool.

Drake laughed. "It's alright, I was comfortable, too. So...?" He glanced over to Joey Jr.

"Yeah, the kid's had a crush on me since he was 15. Something I discovered during a very awkward encounter on Valentine's day. I was here with a guy, and all of a sudden Joey Jr. appears with flowers, professing his love to me. I felt horrible breaking the kid's heart on Valentine's Day. So, then I started calling him Jailbait. I think it eased the blow, because then it was like I couldn't go out with him because of my desire to not go to jail."

"Yeah, Jail isn't fun."

Melody looked at him curiously. "Is there something I should know?"

"It's a story for another day." Drake said.

Melody smiled, "No, I think this is one of those stories you can't put off. Especially when it implies jail time."

Drake rolled his eyes dramatically. "Fine. I just didn't want to because I didn't want to fail the 'first pitcher test.' That's all."

"Do you think I need a little more alcohol in my system before hearing this story?"

"Nah, It's not that bad..." Drake said. "I was hanging out at the movie theatre with my brother..."


	6. Chapter 6

"So, Gabby bets me that I won't do it. She hadn't really known me that long. She didn't realize that I really have no qualms about embarrassing myself in public. So I run up to my apartment to change. I wanted to wear something that caught people's attention. Not revealing or anything. Just... bright..." Melody said. 

"Bright?" Drake questioned. He had lost count of how many beers they had drank. They had been telling each other stories for a couple of hours. A couple of more people had come in the bar and Joey Jr.'s band was practicing.

"Bright!" Melody said, moving her hands dramatically. "Like hot pink bright! I wore a hot pink blouse, lime green stockings, a white skirt and purple shoes! You should have seen it. It was just awful. I had my hair up in pigtails and everything."

"What I don't understand is why on earth do you own lime green stocking and purple shoes in the first place?" Drake teased.

Melody was laughing so hard that she could barely get the words out. "You never know when you need a good pair of lime green stockings."

"So, what happened?"

"Well, I walk into the coffee shop... in my costume and the look on Gabby's face was priceless! She sets up a table outside the shop and says I have an hour to bring in a crowd. If I can do that, she'll give me the job. If not, I still get the two hundred dollars she bet because I had the guts to try. So, I get up on my table and I tried telling jokes. That didn't work. So I tried tap dancing. That's when I started singing."

Drake couldn't stop laughing. "All for a job?" He managed to get out.

Melody shrugged, smiling brightly. "I needed the money."

"Hey, Mel. You wanna come sing for us?" Joey Jr. asked, from his place on the makeshift stage.

"You seem to have a lot of fans." Drake teased.

Melody blushed a little. "High school kids with a crush."

"I doubt it's just high school kids who have a crush on you. Now go. Sing for me."

"For you?"

"Yeah, no one else but me."

Melody laughed. "It's cute to see you're trying to make a high school kid jealous." She said, hoping off her barstool. She ran up to the stage and talked to the band. She turned to the microphone. "This is for Drake, who is so cute with that alcohol induced flush on his face."

Drake smiled. So far, Melody was amazing. After he told her the story about the Gary Grills incident they went back and forth sharing ridiculous stories. His sides hurt from laughing so hard. They kept trying to top the other's stories. Now, she was singing as if she doesn't have a care in the world.

Joey came over and refilled Drake's beer. Drake noticed Joey looked proud watching the band play. "They're good." Drake said.

Joey nodded. "Yeah, they are. We've got a good thing. They get to practice here whenever they want and I feel better knowing he's staying out of trouble." He took away Melody's empty glass. "I think she's had enough to drink tonight." He laughed, watching Melody's dramatic motions on the stage.

"She's good though. Even if she is drunk." Drake couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he watched her.

"Yeah, She could have been great if things had been a little different." Joey said.

Drake was about to ask what he meant when the song ended and Melody came bounding over excitedly. "Where's my beer?" Melody asked, pouting.

Joey laughed and walked away. "He seems to think that you've had enough." Drake said.

"Oh well" She took Drake's glass out of his hand and took a sip. It was such a comfortable act. She was standing just a little closer than a person would normal stand and Drake didn't mind at all. She handed the beer back to Drake. "So, you're gonna sing with me, yes?"

Drake shook his head, "No."

"Please."

"No."

"Come on. We'll sing some duets from musicals! Like songs from Grease or something!"

"No way!" Drake laughed.

Melody pouted. "Jailbait will sing with me." She poked Drake in the chest. "And you, sir, will be extremely jealous."

Drake looked over Melody's shoulder at the band. "They look a little young to be playing songs from Grease."

Melody smiled brightly. "They know it. I've taught them well. Now drink your beer and let's go."

Drake drank the last of his beer and Melody dragged him over to the mic. Drake noticed Joey Jr. glaring at him. The music started and Melody looked at him expectantly. Drake rolled his eyes and sang, "I've got chills, they're multiplying..."

An hour later the band decided to pack up. "You guys are really great." Drake said to the band. They all got along with Drake. Even Joey Jr. managed to smile a couple of times.

"Bye, Jailbait! Bye guys!" Melody waved to the band. She walked over to the bar. "See ya tomorrow, Joey."

"Hey, kiddo. It's raining again. Here, take an umbrella." Joey said, pulling an umbrella from behind the bar and handing it to Melody.

"See, I told you Joey was sweet." She said, turning to Drake.

"She's definitely drunk." Joey laughed. "Make sure she gets home alright."

"Yes, Sir." Drake said.

"Oh, and I think it goes without saying. If anything happens to her, I'll kill you." Joey said seriously.

"Yes, Sir." Drake said, a little less sure of himself this time.

Melody was holding Drake's hand and pulling him out of the bar. "Aww. Rain." She said, retreating back into the doorway after encountering the cold rain water.

Drake chuckled. "Yeah, Joey said. That's why he gave us the umbrella."

Melody looked at the umbrella in her hand. She tried to open it but struggled with it.

Drake chuckled again. "Allow me." He took the umbrella and opened it.

"You can hold the umbrella. I'm too drunk for umbrella operations." Melody said. She held on to Drake's arm as he held the umbrella over them.

"So, which way?" Drake asked.

"Ummm. Left." She said, after looking around.

"You do know which way to go, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm drunk, but not that drunk. Right."

They walked for a few minutes and they finally reached Melody's apartment building. Drake walked her up to her floor and they stood outside her apartment door.

Melody smiled. "Thanks. I had a really great time tonight."

Drake smiled. "I did too."

They stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say next. Melody laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm drunk and my mind has completely went blank. It's been a long time since I went on a... to a bar."

"To a bar?" Drake asked, an amused smile on his face.

Melody blushed. "Sorry. Damn alcohol." She said with a laugh.

"It's okay, it's been a long time since I've been on a date, too."

"Yeah... I didn't want to call it that. I wasn't sure if that's what it was or...Well, I don't know. But... Yeah, it's been a long time since I... had any sort of social interaction with a boy. I was kinda nervous, did I seem nervous?"

"You were fine. Though, you did get totally wasted and started singing."

Melody laughed. "Shut up. I wasn't wasted and you sang too! You're drunk too!"

"I only drank so much because I was nervous. You're very pretty. It's intimidating."

"No, it's not. Besides, You're pretty, too. And you have that whole rock star thing working for you."

"You think I'm pretty?" Drake asked, batting his eyes.

"Now it's my turn to act nonchalant." Melody said giggling. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door. She started humming to herself and looking at everything except Drake.

Drake leaned against the wall. He let out a loud sigh and bit his bottom lip thoughtfully. Melody gave in by giggling. "So dramatic. You may be pretty, but I have better hair." Melody said while flipping her hair.

Drake pretended to look offended. "Better hair than me?"

Melody nodded, smiling. Drake shrugged his shoulders. "For now, maybe. But wait until my hair grows out a little more. Then, it will be at it's full potential. Then, I will claim my best hair title."

"Yeah, it'll be a side swept bangs showdown." Melody said giggling.

Drake reached over and gently brushed Melody's hair away from her face. "Well, maybe you do have better hair." He said softly. Melody leaned slightly into his touch. Drake moved his face closer and he felt her tense, just when his face was an inch from hers. She backed herself as far as she could into the door, accidentally hitting the back of her head.

Drake let his hand drop and took a step back. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

Melody looked embarrassed, blushing furiously and holding one hand to the back of her head. "No, Drake, I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean... It's... It's just that..."

"It's been a long time." Drake said, finishing her thought.

Melody was biting her bottom lip and Drake tried to smile reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." He said. "It's late. I guess I should be going." He turned to walk away but Melody grabbed his hand.

Drake turned to look at her. "Maybe... Maybe we can do this again? Like Friday?"

"I can't."

Melody's hand dropped from his and she frowned. "Okay. I understand. I just wanted you to know..."

"No! It's not that. I promised my brother that I'd go visit him this weekend. In Boston. I haven't been around much and... Maybe Monday? When I get back. I'll even have a plan when I pick you up." Drake said.

"You sure?" Melody asked.

"Absolutely." Drake said.

Melody gave a weak smile. "Good. So... I guess I'll see you Monday?"

Drake nodded. "Okay, So... Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I promise good things for the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy. And remember reviews make me happy. lol**


	7. Chapter 7

"Hello?" Drake said, flipping open his cell phone. 

"Where are you?" Josh asked.

Drake looked around. "Umm... I think I'm still in Massachusetts."

"You should have been here two hours ago."

"Wait... I think I'm here..." Drake lowered his window. "I'm gonna yell out the window. Tell me if you hear me." Drake slowed the car down as he screamed, "JOSH!!!!" out the window. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard that... because you screamed it into the phone!" Josh said.

"Oh... well... wait, never mind. I think I see you down the street." Drake stopped the car. "I'm waving my arm out the window. Do you see it?"

"Yes, I see the crazy man stopped in the middle of the street waving his arm."

"Well, wave so I'm sure it's you."

"You would see it's me if you just drive past a couple of more houses..." Josh said.

"Just wave." Drake said.

"Fine." Drake could see Josh standing in the driveway waving his arms. He pulled into the driveway.

"New car?" Josh asked, as Drake got out of the car.

"Yeah, I just got it this morning. I realized after I packed that I didn't have a car anymore." Drake said.

Josh looked in the car. "Drake... This car has a navigation system."

"And?"

"And a navigation system helps you find your way to places. So you don't spend hours driving in circles." Josh said.

Drake shrugged. "I got here. That's all that matters." He started taking his bags out of the car.

"Drake, Nice to see that you finally decided to drop by." Mindy said, once Drake and Josh went in the house.

"Well, I did need to clear my schedule. I hope you appreciate the effort." Drake said dramatically. He took Emily from Mindy. "Woah, You're getting big, aren't you baby?" He said to Emily. Emily giggled and hit Drake in the nose. "Yeah, you are like your mommy, aren't you?"

Mindy laughed. "Dinner will be ready soon. Why don't you go play 'til then?"

Drake carried Emily into the living room. "Dude, it's hard to believe that you're a dad." He said, setting Emily on the floor. He sat on the floor with her and reached for one of her toys.

"Yeah, I know." Josh said, joining them on the floor. "It's really cool though."

Drake watched Emily reach for the stuffed bunny he had in his hand. She looked mostly like Mindy, but she definitely had Josh's smile. "Gaa!!" She said, getting a hold of the bunny.

"What's that? You want this bunny?" Drake asked with a smile.

Emily kept pulling on the bunny. She lost her grip and looked at the bunny, then at Drake, then at Josh. "DA!"

Josh laughed and took the bunny from Drake. "Yeah, I know. Uncle Drake doesn't share well." He handed the bunny to Emily. "There you go, princess."

Emily smiled and showed Drake the bunny. "Ba!!"

Drake smiled. "Yeah, I see. Did daddy give you the bunny? I guess I'll just have to find something else to play with." He said, reaching for a ball.

Emily watched Drake take the ball. "Ba?"

"Here you go, kiddo." He said, gently rolling it to Emily.

"So... it turns out... Katie's baby might be mines..." Drake said softly.

"What?" Josh exclaimed.

"Shh!" Drake didn't want Mindy to hear. "It might be mines."

"What? When? How?"

"Well, I thought you knew how babies are made." Drake said.

"You know what I meant." Josh said, a little frustrated.

"It was right before my accident. That's where I was before it happened, her hotel room."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Josh asked.

"Well, after the accident... I don't know. I was a little ashamed. I know what you guys think about her and..." Drake shrugged. "I didn't think it mattered."

"But you said the other day..."

"Yeah, I didn't think I could be at the time. In fact, I completely forgot that I had seen her that night. Tony was the one who reminded me." Drake said.

Josh handed the ball back to Emily when it hit his leg. "So, what are you going to do?"

Drake shrugged. "Tony suggested I get back together with her..."

"What? No! You can't do that!"

"He thinks it'll be good for my image. If I support her during her pregnancy."

"But can't they test to see if it's your baby?" Josh asked.

"Tony talked to her manager. Katie refuses to do a paternity test until the kid is born. Something about publicity or something. I don't know. What it means for me is that I won't know for sure for another six months."

"That means she can keep saying that you're the father for the next six months?"

"I think that's what she wants." Drake sighed. "What if it is mine?" He glanced over at Emily who was happily chewing on the bunny's ear, after abandoning the ball.

"You'll be a great dad." Josh said.

"Dinner's ready!" Mindy called from the kitchen.

Drake picked Emily up. "Look, just don't tell anyone." He said to Josh.

"I can't exactly keep it a secret." Josh whispered.

"Fine, Just wait until I leave before you tell her." Drake said. They went in the kitchen and Drake put Emily in her high chair.

"Wow, Mindy... this actually tastes great." Drake said, starting his dinner.

"Thanks for sounding so surprised, Drake." Mindy said.

"Sorry, it's just that I've never really seen you cook."

Josh laughed and Mindy glared at him.

"What am I missing?" Drake asked.

"Mindy lost a bet. She has to cook dinner for a month." Josh said.

"You actually beat Mindy?"

"Yeah, we made a bet to see what Emily would say first. Mama or Dada."

"Dada?" Emily said.

Josh laughed. "That's right, princess. Dada won, now Mama has to cook."

"So, Drake. What's new?" Mindy asked.

"I saw Tony the other day. He told me I had to start working on the next album. He wants me to go in a whole new direction, because the last one didn't do so well."

"Well, that's because you let Katie tell you what to do on that one." Mindy said.

"What do you want to do?" Josh asked.

Drake shrugged. "I don't know. I still don't feel like writing and I tried to tell him that I'm having trouble playing the guitar. He just said I didn't have to play the guitar. They could hire someone to do it for me, and write for me. They can hire people to do everything for me." He sighed. "I'm just tired of feeling like a puppet."

"You went into music because it was fun and you loved it. You shouldn't have to force yourself to do something if you don't want to anymore." Josh said.

"It's not that. I'm just in a rut."

"If you want to, we can go over your contract. Maybe you just need a new manager. We can see what we can do about that." Mindy said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. No problem."

Drake smiled and felt better. "That would be great. Now, tell me what I missed while I was away."

A couple of hours later, Emily was in bed while Josh, Mindy and Drake were talking in the living room. Drake was telling them about his date with Melody.

"So, I thought things were going great. I walked her up to her apartment. I leaned in to kiss her and she backed away." Drake said.

"Why?" Josh asked.

Drake shrugged. "She said that it's been a long time. I don't know. I mean, it's just a kiss."

Mindy laughed and Drake and Josh gave her a strange look. "It's not just a kiss!"

"What is it then?" Josh asked.

Mindy shook her head. "You can tell a lot from a first kiss. Maybe she didn't want that kiss to say, 'Hey, I'm drunk!' Or maybe her last relationship didn't end well and she wants to take it slow."

"A kiss is taking it slow!" Drake said.

Mindy laughed again. "You have a lot to learn about women."

They were interrupted by Drake's phone ringing. "Hello?" Drake got up and walked to the kitchen, though he knew that Josh and Mindy were probably listening in anyway.

"Hey, Drake. It's Melody."

"Hey, I was wondering when you'd call. I stopped by the coffee shop yesterday and asked Gabby to give you my number."

"Yeah. I was off yesterday."

"And today?" Drake asked.

Melody laughed. "Today, I was practicing on how to sound cool over the phone."

"Well, You sounded very cool."

"I try. So, you having fun at your brother's house?"

"Yeah. I am."

Mindy and Josh came into the kitchen. "Drake! Let us talk to her!" Mindy said.

"No, Go away!" Drake said, walking to the other side of the table.

"What's going on there?" Melody asked.

"They're being stupid."

"But, Drake. We want to talk to her." Josh said.

"Can we meet her? I want to meet her." Mindy said.

"They sound delightful. Tell them I say hi." Melody said, laughing.

"She says, 'hi.' Now, will you two let me talk and peace?" Drake asked.

"But we love you!!"

"I'm coming back on Monday. What time do you get off work?" Drake asked.

"I'm done at 2." Melody said.

"Great. I'll pick you up then." Drake said.

"Awww, they have a date." Mindy said.

"Our little Drake is growing up." Josh said.

"Tell them I say bye." Melody said.

"She says bye." Drake told Josh and Mindy. "I'm sorry about them." he said to Melody.

"No problem, I'll see you Monday." She said.

"Bye, Melody!!" Josh and Mindy said as Drake hung up the phone.

"I hate you guys sometimes." Drake said.

"Look, Josh. He likes her. See how he's blushing." Mindy said.

"Awww. Drake and Melody sitting in a tree..." Josh sang.

Drake rolled his eyes and walked back into the living room.

"Well, at least you know she likes you. Or else she wouldn't have called." Mindy said, patting Drake's shoulder. "The non-kiss wasn't a total rejection."


	8. Chapter 8

When Drake ran into the coffee shop on Monday afternoon, Melody was sitting at the counter talking to Gabby. They both looked at Drake and laughed. "See, I told you he'd come." Melody said to Gabby. 

"Sorry I'm late." He watched Gabby hand Melody ten dollars. "You made a bet on whether I would show up or not?"

Melody looked at him and smiled. "Don't look so disappointed. I won because I knew you would show up." She hopped off the stool. "So, do you have a plan like you promised?"

Drake nodded. "I have an amazing plan!" He said dramatically with a smile.

"Great. Let's go." Melody said, reaching for Drake's hand.

Two hours later, they were watching penguins swim at the central park zoo. "Oh! They're so cute!!" Melody said. Out of all the animals they had seen, the penguins seemed to be Melody's favourite. Melody pulled Drake with her as she stood closer to the glass. "Hello, little penguins."

Drake laughed. The sound caused Melody to look at him. "I want a penguin! We can sneak one out, right?"

Drake shook his head. "I think that's one of the things they frown upon here, people stealing penguins."

"But it's not stealing! I just want to adopt one!" She looked at the penguins and then looked at Drake. She blushed a little. "Sorry."

"It's alright." He squeezed her hand. "You're cute when you're excited about penguins."

She smiled and lead him away from the penguins. "You know, I've lived in the city for years, and I've never been here before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there's a lot of places I haven't been to."

"When did you move to the city?" Drake asked. It just dawned on him that he really didn't know much about her.

"When I was 17. It was right after my dad died. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so a friend that was going to NYU let me move in with her."

"I'm sorry about your dad." Drake said.

Melody shrugged. "It's alright." Melody guided Drake to a bench where they sat down. They were out of the zoo and it was surprisingly quiet where they were. "So, What about you? All I know about you is that you happen to write songs that I like."

"I grew up in San Diego and..." He struggled to think of what else he could say.

"And...?" Melody smiled.

Drake laughed. "You can probably find everything you need to know about me on-line. I'm surprised you didn't do your research."

Melody shook her head. "I'd rather hear it from you. Though, I did hear something about your ex-girlfriend being pregnant. Some girls were talking about it when they were in the coffee shop this morning."

Drake was confused by how calm Melody sounded. "You're not upset?"

Melody looked confused. "Why would I be?"

"Because... ummm..." Drake wasn't sure how to explain it.

Melody touched Drake's hand. "I like you. There's some things I'm not ready to talk about, so I'm not going to push you to talk about anything. That's why I didn't look up anything about you. I'd rather just let things unfold naturally."

Drake leaned forward to kiss her and Melody leaned back. An awkward silence hung between them.

"You had a better chance when I was drunk." Melody said with an uncomfortable laugh.

"So, I blew it?"

Melody shook her head. "Good things come to those who wait. Besides, it's one of those things I'm not ready to talk about." She looked serious. "Does that bother you?"

Drake shook his head. "It's fine. Although, it might hurt my ego a little if you keep doing that." He said lightly.

Melody was about to say something but Drake's phone rang. He looked at it. There was one new text message from Josh that read, 'Picture?'

Drake smiled as he hit the camera button on his phone. "Josh and Mindy want a picture. They seem to be curious about you."

Melody put her hands over her face when Drake held up his phone. "No, no pictures." She said.

Drake tried to pull her hands away from her face. "Come on, just one little picture!"

"No! I'm a mystery to them! Let me be a mystery!" Melody said, laughing. She jumped off the bench. "Haha. I win!"

"I don't think so." Drake said, he got up and started chasing her.

"I wanna be a mystery!" Melody yelled as Drake finally caught her. He put his arm around her waist and they both ended up falling to the ground. They were both laughing and out of breath. Drake moved so he was kneeling over Melody. His knees were on either side of her waist.

"I win!" He said, happily. "Now smile for the camera."

Melody stuck her tongue out at him before smiling.

"See, that wasn't so hard." Drake said.

"It was so difficult! I'm exhausted now." Melody said dramatically.

"That's because you had to run around like a little kid." He reached down and brushed Melody's hair away from her face. She looked at him curiously. "I'm going to have to be patient, aren't I?" He asked softly.

Melody nodded. "Yeah, you are." She looked sad, like she felt bad for it.

"It's okay." Drake said. His cell phone rang. He glanced at the message and laughed.

"What?" Melody asked.

"They asked if I tackled you to get that picture." Drake stood up and helped Melody up. "They also think you're really cute."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has left a review so far. I adore you guys!!**

* * *

Drake was patient for three weeks. Though, it didn't feel like he had to be patient. He stopped thinking about the non-kissing thing. That's because he was spending every day with Melody. He hung out at the coffee shop. They went out to eat or to the bar or to the movies nearly every night.

At the moment, Drake was sitting on the couch in Melody's apartment as she got changed. He tossed the newspaper he had on the coffee table with a sigh. He leaned back on the couch. "Melody, how 'bout we just order some Chinese food and stay in tonight?" He called out.

Melody came out of her room. She was wearing a red dress. "I thought you wanted to check out that new restaurant?"

"Yeah, but I'm kinda tired, and I thought we'd try something new. We haven't just had a night in yet." Drake turned to look over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. You're all dressed, we can go..." He said standing up.

"Don't be silly. We can stay in." Melody said. She turned to go back to her room.

"You look beautiful." Drake said.

"Thanks. You wanna call for the food?"

"Sure." Drake called the Chinese food place. After that, he sat on the couch again. He picked up the remote and started flipping through channels. "You wanna watch a movie?"

Instead of an answer, a body suddenly appeared on Drake's lap and was kissing him. After the initial shock, Drake let his hands rest lightly on Melody's waist.

Melody broke the kiss and sat next to Drake. "Wow." Drake said, feeling breathless. "What was that for?"

"For being so patient." She said softly.

Drake put his arm around Melody and pulled her closer. He glanced down at her penguin pajama pants. "Cute."

"Am I still beautiful, even in my pajamas?"

Drake kissed her. "You're always beautiful."

Melody rested her head on Drake's shoulder. "Thank you." She sighed softly. "The last guy I was with never told me I was beautiful."

"I don't know how he couldn't. I feel like I'm not saying it enough."

"You say it enough. You say it even when I'm drunk and my hair is all over the place." Melody said with a small laugh.

"That's because you are beautiful when you're drunk." Drake said. They were silent for a couple of minutes when Drake asked, "How long were you with him?"

"Three years. It was kinda on and off the whole time, but we were together about three years."

"Three years and he never told you how beautiful you are?" Drake couldn't believe it.

"Not once."

The doorbell rang. Drake kissed Melody's cheek. "I'll be right back, beautiful."

"Speaking of celebrity babies, Katie Winters was positively glowing as she was out shopping this past weekend. Katie is due in December. Still no official word from the father, Drake Parker..." The host of some entertainment show said.

Melody turned off the TV when she heard Drake sigh. He sat next to her and put the food on the coffee table. Melody started looking through the cartons of food. Drake just watched her feeling a little bit of disbelief. "Aren't you going to ask me?"

"Meh?" Melody questioned, mouth full of white rice.

"About Katie, and the baby and everything?" Drake asked in a slightly irritated tone.

Melody swallowed the mouthful of food and smiled. "Drake, do you want to tell me about Katie and the baby and EVERYTHING?" She asked as dramatically as Drake had asked his last question.

Drake realized she was mocking him and frowned. "Sorry." He said. He realized he shouldn't be upset that she didn't ask, but for some reason it irked him.

"Do you want to talk about it? I didn't ask about it because I didn't think you wanted to talk about it." Melody said seriously.

"No, it's fine. I guess this is new for me. Katie used to drill me about everything. You're just so laid back. You don't really ask questions."

"Do you want me to question you all the time?"

"No. I'm sorry." Drake rubbed his jaw absently.

"How did you get that scar?" Melody asked.

"What scar?" Drake asked, the question had caught him off guard.

Melody put her food down. She reached over and touched Drake's jaw. "Here." She said, tracing the scar lightly with her finger. "Whenever you look like you're worried about something, you rub your hand over that scar."

Drake frowned, he didn't realize that he did that.

"See, I do care. I may not ask a lot of questions, but I notice the little things like that." Melody said softly.

Drake suddenly lost his appetite. "I'm going to put some of this away. I'm not really hungry." He stood up and started collecting the cartons. He went to the kitchen and put the food in the fridge. When he turned, Melody was behind him with the rest of the food.

"You could have finished." He said softly.

"It's fine." Melody said, putting the rest of the food in the fridge. She followed Drake back to the couch. She waited for him to talk.

"I was in a car accident." Drake said, after a few minutes. "Almost four months ago."

Melody gently took Drake's hand. He was surprised to find how concerned she looked. His insides ached. He didn't want to lie to her.

"Everyone thinks that scar is from the accident. It happened the same night. I never told anyone what really happened." Drake sighed.

"It's okay." Melody said softly, squeezing Drake's hand gently.

"I was at my mom's house in San Diego. We all were. Megan, Josh, Mindy were there too. Walter finally won weatherman of the year, so we were celebrating. Katie and I had broken up three months before that. She called me that weekend. She was in California and wanted to see me. So, in the middle of the night I snuck out of the house and drove an hour to her hotel." Drake sighed, he spent so much time trying to forget about it. He didn't really want to talk about it anymore, but he had gotten this far...

"She kissed me as soon as she opened the door. I don't think I missed her. I don't think she missed me either. She was drunk and I was weak. We had sex and I realized what a big mistake it was right after. I guess I sort of realized that is how it would always be, she would be drunk and neither of us would really care. We got into a fight, because I tried to tell her it was over." Drake looked down. He wouldn't be able to say anymore if he looked at Melody's caring eyes any longer.

"Words were said, Katie threw things. She was always breaking things. I had gotten dressed when she pushed me against the wall. Not really a big deal, except she had a piece of glass from a vase she had broken. She told me how pathetic I am and how I would always go back to her, no matter what she did to me." Drake rubbed his scar again. "I guess I'm lucky she cut my jaw instead of my throat."

"Anyway, I pushed her away from me and left. They said the accident wasn't my fault. The other guy was drunk and he ran the light and he didn't have a scratch on him. I just keep wondering, if I wasn't thinking about Katie, if I had only paid a little more attention to the road, if I hadn't gone to see her in the first place, then I wouldn't have gotten into that accident. I never would have hurt my arm. I might be a father because I was weak. And because she won't get a paternity test until after the kid is born, I have to spend the next five months worrying about it!"

Drake could feel his whole body shaking. He couldn't believe how emotional he felt, saying the whole thing out loud. Melody wrapped her arms around him.

"Drake, I'm so sorry." She said softly. She gently ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. Drake was starting to calm down. "Let's go to bed." Melody said.

"What?" Drake asked, surprised.

"Stay with me. I don't want you to be by yourself."

"I'll be fine." Drake said, without any conviction.

Melody just took his hand and led him to her room. "I would offer you some pajamas, but they're probably a little too small for you."

"I'm fine with my boxers." Drake said, taking his jeans off. "Are you sure about this?"

Melody laughed softly. "I think I can handle some cuddling." She sat on the bed and look at Drake expectantly. Drake slid into bed next to her. He got comfortable and the pulled Melody close to him. She rested her head on his chest and Drake gently played with her hair.

"My boyfriend used to hit me." Melody said softly. "Not all the time, and God knows I hit back most of the time... but sometimes... I was weak. I kept taking him back."

Drake held Melody a little tighter. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone hurting her. "I'm sorry."

"He wasn't a nice guy. It's my fault, I hung out with the wrong crowd. That friend I lived with when I moved to the city was friends with him. They were always stoned or drunk. Well, so was I. Suddenly I didn't have anyone to tell me what not to do. I was kinda a wild child. Though, it's kinda weird. Ben and I didn't start dating until I stopped all that." Melody let out a small humorless laugh. "I stopped smoking pot and Ben moved on to harder drugs, that's when we got together. I should have know. Even before that we were always fighting. We were always moving in opposite directions."

"I'll never hurt you like that." Drake said gently. He kissed the top of Melody's head.

"I know you won't." Melody sighed. "You know, I won't hurt you like she did."

"I know."

"If the baby is yours. It won't change anything between us."

"Really?" Drake was surprised.

"Not if you don't want it to. I really do care about you."

"I..." The word 'love' was on the tip of Drake's tongue but he stopped himself. It was much too soon. He felt Melody's body relax a little more. She was starting to fall asleep. "I care about you, too."


	10. Chapter 10

Drake woke up to the annoying ringing of his cell phone. He knew it's Megan calling, because she had set it to an especially annoying tone so he would know when she was calling. Melody's curled up next to him. Drake quickly found his phone so it wouldn't wake her. 

"What do you want?" Drake asked, walking out of the bedroom.

"I just wanted to wake you up. You're helping me with my movie today." Megan said.

"What? No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Since when?"

"Since I'm telling you that you are."

"I don't want to."

"Drake, I need your help. I'm running low on cash and I also need someone here to help out with things."

"You want to use me for my money and for me to be your personal assistant?" Drake asked.

"Yes."

"You know, you could have just said, 'Drake, please help me with my movie.' Oh, and you could have asked me a little earlier. I could have plans today."

Megan let out a frustrated sigh that made Drake smile. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Yeah, I guess. What do you need me to do?"

"Meet me at my apartment at 9. Bring your girlfriend, too."

"Why?"

Megan sighed. "Because I need all the help I can get and I want to meet her."

"Okay. Only if you promise to be nice."

"I'm always nice."

Drake laughed. "Yeah, if nice ever included putting green dye in someone's shampoo."

"She totally deserved that and you know it, but I promise to give the new girl a chance."

"Fine. I'll see you soon." Drake said before hanging up the phone.

Drake went back into the bedroom and smiled. Melody was adorable. He sat on the bed next to her. He felt a little bad that he was waking her so early. He gently started to rub her back. "Melody, baby, wake up."

Melody's eyes fluttered open. She stretched out and yawned. "'Morning."

"Good morning."

"What time is it?" Melody asked, turning to look at her alarm clock. "7? Why are you up so early?"

"My sister just called. She wants help because she's starting filming for her movie today. Do you want to come help? I already told her I would go."

Melody pulled Drake's hand so he would lay down with her. "When do we have to leave?" She asked after cuddling next to him.

"In about an hour."

"But I just want to lie in bed all day with you." Melody whined softly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. It'll be fun. Just five more minutes, then I'll get up." Melody kissed Drake softly. "Sorry, I should probably brush my teeth before I start kissing you."

Drake laughed. "It's okay. You can in five minutes. Just don't breathe on me." He said lightly.

Melody giggled and cuddled closer to Drake. She sighed contently.

Five minutes passed quickly and Drake was nearly asleep again. "Come on, Drake. We gotta get up." Melody said, trying to get up.

Drake held her tighter. "I don't wanna. I'll just call her and tell her we changed our minds."

"Drake, I'm awake, I wanna go brush my teeth now." Melody said, still trying to wiggle out of Drake's grasp.

Drake smiled and put his leg over Melody's leg.

"No, wrong way. You're suppose to be letting me go. Not attacking me with more limbs!"

Drake pulled Melody closer and moved his head down until his mouth was right next to her ear. "I never want to let you go." He said softly.

Drake felt a shiver run through Melody. He opened her eyes and saw that she was breathing slowly. "Why are you so good to me?" Melody asked so softly that Drake almost missed it.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Melody shrugged. "I'm damaged goods."

Drake gently brushed Melody's hair away from her face. The action caused Melody to look at him. Drake thought back to their conversation the previous night. "I'm broken, too. But I feel whole when I'm with you." Drake saw the uncertainty in Melody's eyes. "It's a little scary, isn't it?"

Melody looked a little surprised before nodding. "You think it's scary, too?"

Drake nodded. "Yeah, Only a little though. I was so used to the pain and feeling miserable. Then, I met you. I just feel like I'm feeling too much too soon, and it is a little scary."

Melody started to untangle herself from Drake's limbs and he let her. "We should get ready." She said softly.

Drake nodded and started getting dressed. Melody went to brush her teeth. "I'll be back in like a half hour. I'm gonna run to my apartment to get ready." Drake shouted as he headed toward the door.

"Wait!" Melody yelled. When Drake turned away from the door, Melody almost knocked him off balance by kissing him.

Drake laughed at the suddenness of the kiss. "I'm just going to shower and put on clean clothes. I'll be back soon."

"I know... I just wanted to say... I..." She paused and Drake could see that she was searching for the right word.

"That you really care about me?" Drake offered. He kissed her again. "I know you do. I care about you, too. I'll be back soon."

When Drake knocked on the door a half hour later he could hear rock music being played inside the apartment.

"Come in!" Melody shouted.

Drake opened the door and saw Melody was stretching. She had her feet flat on the floor and she was bent over so she had her hands flat on the floor as well. "What are you doing?"

"Yoga." Melody replied. She slowly raised her upper body up.

"Aren't you suppose to do this in silence? Or listen to the sound of baby birds sleeping or something calming?"

"How exactly do baby birds sound while they sleep?" Melody asked with an amused smile.

"I don't know. I was just pointing out that this isn't exactly calming music."

Melody shrugged. "It clears my head." She turned off the stereo. "I just need to change my pants and put shoes on." She returned a moment later wearing jeans. "I'm ready."

Drake caught her hand as she passed him. He quickly kissed her when she turned to look at him. Melody smiled. "You're going to abuse this new found kissing power, aren't you?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all." Melody said before kissing him again.


	11. Chapter 11

"Megan. We're here." Drake said, opening the door to his sister's apartment. 

"One of my actresses bailed on me!" Megan exclaimed.

"Yes, nice to see you, too." Drake said sarcastically. "Why, Drake, my big brother, thank you ever so much for the coffee. Also, for getting here so quickly on such short notice!" Drake said in a high pitched voice. He handed Megan one of the cups of coffee he was holding and patted the top of her head. His voice returned to normal. "You're welcome darling little sister. I'm glad to help."

Megan rolled her eyes. She took a sip of her coffee. "At least you got it right." She muttered before turning to Melody. "I'm Megan." She said, extending her hand.

"I'm Melody. Nice to meet you." Melody said, shaking Megan's hand.

Megan seemed to be studying Melody. She left for a moment and then handed Melody a packet of papers when she returned. "You look right for the part. Start learning your lines."

"I... I don't act." Melody said.

Megan gave Melody a weird look. Her face relaxed and she said, "It's really easy. Just say a few lines in front of the camera. I bet you're a natural."

Melody tried to hand back the script. "I can't."

"What's the big deal, babe? You sing in front of the coffee shop people all the time. I'm surprised you're not jumping at the chance to do this." Drake said.

"I don't act." Melody said softly.

"Can't you find another actress, and just shoot their scenes on another day?" Drake asked.

"No, this is kinda an important part. She's in most of the scenes. I have to start shooting them today."

"That's not a couple of lines. I have to work, I don't have time to play a big part." Melody said.

"We can work around your schedule. I can also pay you." Megan said.

"You mean I can pay." Drake muttered.

Megan smiled sweetly. "I'll give you producing credits."

"I won't be credited as an assistant?" Drake asked.

"Oh, you will be that, too. Imagine it," Megan moved her hands dramatically, "Ms. Parker's Assistant: Drake Parker. Oh how glorious it will be!"

"Can I get a part in the movie?" Drake asked.

Megan shrugged, "I'll find you a small part, I guess."

"Deal." Drake seemed satisfied. He turned to Melody. "Come on, this will be fun. Please?"

Melody bit her lip. She considered it for a couple of minutes. "Fine, since it's for your sister."

"Perfect!" Megan exclaimed, "I have the outfit you need to wear in the other room."

Melody went to follow Megan but Drake grabbed her hand. "Wait."

Megan turned around. "What?"

"Something doesn't seem right..." Drake said. He looked around trying to figure out why something felt off.

"Don't hurt yourself." Megan muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Why aren't you angrier about that actress bailing on you?" Drake asked.

"Because Melody looks perfect for the part." Megan said.

"But why would you give a lead part to someone you just met? Even if she has the right look, what if she can't act? You're too calculating to not take that into consideration."

"Because I need an actress today!"

Drake shook his head. He pulled Melody closer, as if he was trying to protect her from one of Megan's pranks. "She's not doing it unless you tell us the truth."

Melody looked confused as Drake stepped in front of her. Megan smiled. "That's cute, Drake. I guess you do like her." Drake didn't move so Megan continued. "Fine. Melody Harris. 5'5. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Age: 25. Birthday: December 2nd. Her mom was killed in a car crash when Melody was 2, Melody was in the car at the time but only suffered from a few cuts and bruises. Her dad died from what was considered an accidental overdose when she was 17. After that, she moved to Manhattan and lived with Debbie Donnelly, an NYU film student who is a year older than Melody. They knew each other from high school."

Drake could feel Melody grip his hand while Megan continued. "Melody acted in most of Debbie's projects, along with several other students' projects. At the beginning of last year she was living with her boyfriend Ben. She acted in a pilot that was filmed here in New York. A couple of months later, a television network picked up the series and offered Melody the part she had played in the pilot. She and Ben had recently broken up at that point. They were in the process of finalizing the contract and it was planned for Melody to move out to California, but all of a sudden, she told them she couldn't do it."

Megan took a deep breath after rattling off all that information. "I saw a bunch of Melody's work, I really like her style. I don't know why she didn't accept the part in the series or why she stopped acting. I just thought if you guys were here and I explained my desperate need for an actress..."

"You did research on her? That's like a massive invasion of her privacy! How could you?" Drake exclaimed.

"One of my friends is friends with Debbie, that's how I first saw her acting. That was months ago though. Then, when you told me you met a girl and told me her name, I knew it rang a bell. So, yeah, I did research. Maybe a little more than I should have, but it was mostly because I was looking out for you. I wanted to make sure she wasn't another Katie!"

"Even if she was like Katie, that would be MY problem, Megan. Not yours!" Drake yelled.

Megan frowned. "You haven't exactly made good decisions in the past. You can't blame me for wanting to protect you. Josh seemed to think it was okay."

"You told Josh?"

"I didn't tell him what I found out. I just asked what he thought about me doing research. He was kinda torn, but then he said he would feel better if he knew she wasn't psycho or something. He didn't ask for details, just my overall opinion of her."

"What about Mom and Walter? Did you plot with them, too?"

Megan shook her head. "I'll just tell them that she's a nice girl. Don't you feel better knowing that she's not using you because you're famous? I knew she wasn't acting anymore, but I didn't think she'd be so reluctant to take this part."

"I didn't even know she did act. It doesn't matter. She treats me like I'm normal. She's respected my privacy and hasn't done any research on me. We've been taking it slow and there you are spouting out some personal information as if you have any right to know it in the first place!"

Melody dropped Drake's hand and stepped out from behind him. "Stop fighting. What's done is done."

Megan and Drake both had a look of surprise on their face when they looked at Melody. They had both forgotten that she was still in the room. "No, Megan needs to learn that she can't manipulate people. Let's go." He said, grabbing Melody's hand.

"Come on, Drake. Don't be so dramatic. It's not like I kidnapped her and I'm forcing her to act for food or something!" Megan yelled.

Melody stopped and pulled her hand out of Drake's grip. Drake stopped and looked at Melody. "It's not my ideal way of you finding out about things, but it's fine. Now you know about how my mom and dad died and how I used to act." Melody turned to Megan. "I don't have any intentions of using your brother in any way. I stopped acting for a reason."

"I know." Megan said softly. There was a type of sadness in her eyes that Drake didn't understand. He couldn't remember there ever being a time where Megan looked so... sympathetic toward one of his girlfriends. He was getting the feeling that Megan knew something that she wasn't telling.

"So, when do we start shooting?" Melody asked.

"My camera person should be here any minute. My neighbor is away for the week and she said we could shoot some of the scenes in her apartment. I won't need you to be ready for your first scene until noon." Megan said.

"Is there someplace I can go to be alone so I can learn my lines?"

"Yeah, you can use my bedroom." Megan said, leading Melody to the other room.

"You had no right to do that." Drake said softly, when Megan returned.

Megan shrugged. "I guess not."

"You're lucky she's doing this for you. If it was up to me, we would be on a train to back to Brooklyn by now."

"I know." Megan said softly. "She's a good person."

Drake studied his sister's face for a moment. "You do know something that I don't."

"Her ex-boyfriend wasn't a good guy." Megan tried to gauge Drake's reaction. "I found at least two hospital reports saying she came in with suspicious bruises. She denied that he beat her when the doctors asked her about it."

Drake frowned. They had talked about the way Ben treated her the night before, but she didn't say anything about hospital visits. He didn't blame her though, for not wanting to relive those memories by talking about them. He could definitely understand that feeling. "You looked at her hospital records?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I went a little overboard. I couldn't help it. Really." Megan said.

"Is there anything else you found?"

Megan shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee.

Drake noticed that Megan wasn't really looking at him. There was knock on the door. "You're lying." Drake said. "There's still something you're not telling me."

Megan paused and took her hand away from the doorknob. She turned and looked at Drake. "Drake, if I was you, I would stop talking, right now."

"What is it?" Drake asked softly.

Megan shook her head. "You'll regret asking me that."

"Megan..."

Megan took a step closer. "This is all I will say. I learned that she is as opposite as Katie as you can get. Which is all I really needed to know. I know I did need to stop prying into other people's personal business. I know I shouldn't know what I know about her, so I'm just going to tell you to be very gentle with her. A lot of crappy things have happened to her, and if you hurt her, I'll be more likely to side with her than you. Just let her tell you things at her own pace, don't push her and don't ask me any more questions about her." Megan said very softly.

There was another knock on the door. While Megan let her friends in, Drake went to go check on Melody.

"Hey." Drake said softly when he entered the room. Melody had the script laying in front of her on the bed and she was quietly going over some lines.

"Megan said I only have to do two small scenes today. She said she's sorry for trying to trick me into doing it. She admitted that she should have just talked to me." Melody said softly when Drake sat next to her.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to. You seem a little upset." Drake gently rubbed his hand over Melody's back.

"I'm just thinking of how... coldly your sister said those things about me."

"She didn't mean to. She's just calculating and analytical. She memorizes facts and then spouts them out again. She seems sorry for what happened. She didn't mean to sound cold."

"I just didn't think that's how you would find out about my parents. My dad was great and loving and everything, but he did have an alcohol problem. They said it was an accidental overdose, but I think he killed himself. He was just so depressed because of my mom..."

Melody sighed and turned to Drake. She kissed his cheek. "Thanks for trying to protect me out there." She said softly. "I really appreciate it." Melody looked back at her script.

"Can I get you anything? You still seem a little shaken up."

Melody looked at Drake. "Hold me? Just for a couple of minutes... I just need..."

Drake moved a couple of pillows behind him, so he could lean back comfortably while still sitting. He gently took Melody's hand and pulled her gently so she would sit on his lap. Melody rested her head on Drake's chest and Drake wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Drake wanted to ask her why she stopped acting. Melody rested her hand lightly on Drake's chest. That's when Drake realized, more than anything, he just wanted to comfort her and be there for her.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: It took me forever to write this. I just kept getting distracted. I re-wrote this chapter about five times. I kept changing what I wanted to happen and once because I started to write it in first person POV. I hope you guys enjoy it, and thanks for the reviews so far.**

**A/N 2: During one of my distracted moments, I totally gave up on this chapter to write a fic for 'Psych'. So, if you're a fan of that show, you should definately check out my new story.**

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Drake looked up when Melody sneezed. "Maybe you should take it easy." 

"I'm fine." Melody said. She was doing yoga and moved into the downward facing dog position.

Drake had tried to exercise with Melody once, but he couldn't concentrate on his breathing while trying to hold a position. It all seemed very complicated despite Melody assuring him that it's easy once you get the hang of it. Drake did like watching Melody do yoga though. He thought that she looked graceful.

Melody sneezed again and the motion brought her to her knees. "Ow, okay. No more yoga today." She whined, sitting back and holding her knees.

"Are you okay?" Drake got up and walked over to her. He pressed his hand to Melody's forehead. He frowned because she felt a little warm.

"I'm fine." Melody said, pushing Drake's hand away. "I just banged my knees. I'll live."

"I'll get you some aspirin."

"Drake, I'm fine!" Melody's words were lost on Drake, he was already in the kitchen. Drake returned with a glass of water and some aspirin. Drake sat on the floor and looked expectantly at Melody. Melody rolled her eyes and swallowed the pills. "Why are you so worried?"

Drake shrugged. "I'm just worried because you seem to be wearing yourself out between the coffee shop and Megan's movie." It's been a month and Melody was spending all of her days off filming.

"Well, I'll have some time to rest. Megan said Kyle is sick and she doesn't trust anyone else to operate the camera. So, we're taking at least a week off."

"Maybe we should stay here tonight. We don't have to go out."

"I'm fine. Unless you really don't want to go out for a different reason, we're going." Melody said seriously.

"What if I said I want to stay in because I want you all to myself?" Drake asked.

A smile started to form on Melody's face. She laughed and shook her head. "Nice try." Melody stood up. She put her hands out and helped Drake get up. "It's Gabby's birthday. We have to at least make an appearance. Also, Jailbait has been bugging me all month because I haven't been at the bar to hear the band play."

Drake still looked unsure. Melody looked pale and he just couldn't shake the worried feeling.

"I'll wear my red dress... I promise we won't be there long. In like an hour Gabby will be so drunk that she won't notice us sneak out."

Drake relented. "Fine. You win. We'll go."

"Yay!" Melody kissed Drake quickly before running to her room to get changed.

Drake laughed and returned to the couch. He could hear Melody singing in the bedroom. Drake listened carefully to the words that Melody sang. He couldn't remember the name of the song, just that it was by Lisa Loeb.

Drake found himself making his way to Melody's bedroom. The door wasn't fully closed, so he pushed it open slowly. Melody was wearing her red dress and she was brushing her hair. She didn't notice Drake's presence as she sang, "_But if it doesn't brush my shoulder, and it doesn't beat my heart, that's not what i want, that's not where i will start. I never kissed somebody so that they would break my heart, that's not what i want._"

Melody spun away from the mirror and dropped her hairbrush when she saw Drake leaned against the doorway. "Shit!" Melody exclaimed. "Way to give me a heart attack, Drake."

"I'm sorry." Drake said, unable to keep the amusement from his voice. He walked over and pulled Melody into his arms. He gently rubbed his hand over Melody's back. He could feel her heart pounding. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You can't just barge into a girl's bedroom. I could have been naked or something." Melody said lightly.

"So?" Drake asked as he gently kissed Melody's neck.

"So... ummm... I could have been naked."

Drake continued to plant tiny kisses on Melody's neck, slowly moving up to her mouth.

Melody practically melted in Drake's arms. "You really shouldn't do that when I'm..."

Drake gently laid Melody on her bed. "When you're...?"

Melody put her hands on Drake's chest and pushed him away slightly. "I was trying to say something..."

"Something about you being naked." Drake smiled. "Would it have been so bad?"

Melody laughed. "Someone's getting impatient." She teased.

Drake stood up and looked serious. "Actually, I heard you singing so I came in here to ask you what you were thinking about."

Melody looked confused as she sat up. "You know, Drake, I was just teasing. You have been patient. I didn't mean to sound like I don't want..." Melody blushed. "'Cause... I do."

Drake smiled as he sat next to Melody. "I really did come in here to ask you what you were thinking. You always sing Lisa Loeb when you're having serious thoughts."

"Oh." Melody blushed more. "I was thinking about you."

"Hmmm, serious thoughts about me... interesting." Drake moved and gently pushed Melody back down. "Why that song?"

"It's just one of my favourite ones." Drake kissed Melody and Melody pushed him away again. "Nice try. I see what you're doing." Melody said.

"I'm trying to shower my girlfriend with affection."

"You're trying to distract me again. The sooner we go to the bar, the sooner we can leave and..."

"And?" Drake asked hopefully.

"We'll see." Melody said. Drake let her get off the bed and she went to put her shoes on. "How come you never sing to me?"

"What?"

Melody shrugged. "I just thought... I don't know. You're a musician, I thought you would sing more. The only time I've heard you sing is that first night at the bar, and I had to get you drunk before you would do that."

"I think you sing enough for both of us." Drake joked. "I really like listening to you. I guess the mood hasn't struck me."

"Oh." Melody said softly.

"You want me to sing to you?" Drake asked, an idea already forming in his head.

Melody shook her head. "You don't have to. It's just something I was thinking about."

"Ready?" Drake asked, getting off the bed.

"Yeah, let's go."

When they got down to the bar, Gabby was already drunk. "Hey guys!" She exclaimed when Drake and Melody came in. "It's my birthday!"

"She never would have known if we stayed home." Drake whispered to Melody.

"The coffee shop will be closed tomorrow. We should just close it from the weekend. Party all weekend!" Gabby said. "Come on, Mel. More drinks!" Gabby grabbed Melody's hand and pulled her to the bar.

Drake laughed. Instead of following Melody to the bar, he went over to where the band was playing. They were just finishing up a song when Drake approached.

"Hey, Joey."

"Drake." Joey Jr said. Joey Jr tolerated Drake's presence, but he wasn't overly friendly toward him.

"I was wondering if you guys could do me a favor."

"What is it?"

Drake explained what he wanted to do. "It will make Melody happy." Drake said when Joey Jr didn't respond.

"Let me ask the guys." Joey talked quietly with his band mates. "Yeah, sure. I guess we could do that."

"Great. Thanks." Drake said.

"What was that about?" Melody asked when Drake wrapped his arm around her.

"I was just telling them that they sound great tonight."

Melody laughed. "We haven't even been here long enough to hear a full song."

Drake just shrugged, and accepted the beer that Melody handed him. "I just have a feeling that they're going to play great tonight."

It was about an hour and a half later when Joey Jr waved Drake over to the stage. Drake stood behind the microphone and felt nervous. It's been almost eight months since he sang in front of any sort of crowd and the bar was definitely crowded because of Gabby's birthday.

Drake could see Melody looking at him curiously when he started speaking. "I want to wish Happy Birthday to Gabby. I know it's your night, but I hope you don't mind if I dedicate this song to another special girl."

"Do you mean Melody? Is she a special girl?" Gabby asked.

Drake chuckled and Melody blushed. "Yes, this song is for Melody."

The band started playing and it suddenly hit Drake how big this moment is. Maybe he should have chosen another song. It was too late because the words started falling out of his mouth. "_I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too, Thursday I don't care about you, It's Friday, I'm in love, Monday you can fall apart, Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart, Oh, Thursday doesn't even start, It's Friday I'm in love._"

Drake started to relax when Melody smiled. "_Saturday, wait, And Sunday always comes too late, But Friday, never hesitate...I don't care if Mondays black, Tuesday, Wednesday - heart attack, Thursday, never looking back, It's Friday, I'm in love, Monday, you can hold your head, Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed, Or Thursday - watch the walls instead, It's Friday, I'm in love._"

As Drake finished the song, Melody rushed over and jumped in his arms. Drake kissed her as the most of the bar went, "Awwwww." Everyone except Gabby who screamed, "Someone's getting lucky tonight!"

Drake laughed, feeling high on the feeling of performing mixed with the feeling of Melody in his arms.

"I love you." Melody whispered softly in Drake's ear. "Now let's get out of here."

* * *

**Disclaimer: Just a reminder that I don't own anything. The songs used in this chapter were "Wishing Heart" by Lisa Loeb and "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I finally made some small changes to chapter 2 that I was too lazy to make when it was first pointed out to me. Everything "Mines" is now "Mine," as it should be. As a result, every time I say "mines" in my everyday speech, I half expect someone to jump out and scold me for it. lol. If you feel the urge to check, at least wait 'til Tuesday. I'm going to check again later to make sure I corrected everything. **

**A/N 2: I really do appreciate any reviews. Even if it's to correct my grammar or to share any other criticisms you might have. You guys are fantastic. :)**

* * *

Drake woke up to the sound of some Rob Zombie song blasting through the speakers of Melody's alarm clock. With a groan, Drake reached over his still sleeping girlfriend to turn off the alarm. He really couldn't figure out why anyone would want to wake up to that. Drake looked down and noticed that Melody was still sound asleep.

"Babe, it's time to wake up." Drake gently rubbed Melody's back under the shirt she was wearing. He frowned when he felt how hot her skin was.

Melody rubbed her face against her pillow before rolling over to face Drake. "Can you get me the phone? I gotta call the coffee shop and tell whoever's there that I'm not coming in."

"Are you okay?" Drake gently pressed his hand against Melody's forehead. She was burning up.

"I'll live." Melody sat up but quickly laid back down. "When the apartment stops spinning, I'll get some aspirin."

"I'll get it." Drake got out of bed and put his boxers on before venturing into the kitchen. He got the phone and tossed it in the bedroom. It landed next to Melody on the bed. Drake poured a glass of water for Melody and then one for himself. All of a sudden, Drake felt his head start to pound. Drake took some aspirin before returning to the bedroom.

Melody hung up the phone. "Gabby's sister is there. She sounded kinda pissed when I said I wasn't coming in."

"Don't worry about it. They can live without you for a couple of days."

The comment seemed to strike a nerve. "Yeah, I guess." Melody muttered as she attempted to sit up again. She took the aspirin and water from Drake. Setting the empty glass aside, she finally looked at Drake. "What's that?"

Drake looked down at his stomach. He noticed the red bump that was on his stomach. "I don't know."

"Does it hurt?" Melody asked.

Drake poked his stomach around the bump before pressing on the actual bump. It wasn't very big. It didn't hurt. It was just a little itchy. Drake shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's a bug bite." Drake's eyes caught the clock. "I gotta go." Drake hopped off the bed quickly. A wave of dizziness washed over him and his stomach turned.

"Are you okay?" Melody asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine." Drake lied. "Where's my shirt?"

"Sorry. I got cold and it was the only thing I could reach without getting out of bed." Melody said. She took off the shirt she was wearing and threw it to Drake. She pulled the blanket up to cover herself.

Drake smiled remembering the night before. "It's fine. Do you want me to cancel my meeting and take you to the doctor?"

Melody shook her head. "No. Go to your meeting, I know you want to get it over with."

Drake finished getting dressed. "Yeah, I think I'll feel better when it's over." Drake was meeting with Tony to negotiate the end of his contract. It took Mindy several phone calls to even convince Tony to meet with Drake about the topic. Drake wasn't even sure why he was so worried. Mindy is a great lawyer.

"Can you bring me back some soup later?" Melody looked like she just realized what she said. "I mean, if you were planning on coming over tonight..."

"Yeah. I'll get you soup." Drake said with a smile. He opened Melody's dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas. "You should get dressed. I don't want you to be cold."

"Thanks." Melody said, putting the pajama top on. She awkwardly put on the pajama bottoms under the blanket.

"You know, I've seen it before." Drake said, sounding amused.

A small smile appeared on Melody's face and Drake thinks she would have blushed if her face wasn't already flushed. "I know, but it's warm under the blanket."

Drake gently kissed Melody. "Feel better. I'll try to get back as soon as I can."

"I'll be fine. Don't worry so much."

"I love you. Call me if you need anything."

"I love you, too. Good luck with your meeting."

Drake didn't have luck with his meeting. In fact, there was no meeting. Tony had flown off the the Caribbean that morning because of some "emergency." Drake couldn't get any information from Tony's secretary. Only that the "emergency" would be occupying Tony's time for the next month. She assured Drake that Tony would call him the moment he returned to New York.

Feeling discouraged and a little weaker than he had that morning, Drake decided to stop by his doctor's office. Being a rock star did have some advantages, Drake's doctor made time to see Drake immediately. After a quick examination that revealed several new red bumps, Drake returned to Melody's apartment with a diagnosis.

"Hey, How'd the meeting go?" Melody asked when she opened the door to let Drake in.

"You should get to bed." Drake said. Melody looked feverish and weak as she leaned against the door frame.

"I'm fine." Melody muttered. She turned to walk away but swayed on her feet.

Drake caught her easily and lifted her. "Stay in bed. You're sick."

"I'm fine." Melody said softly as Drake laid her down on her bed.

Drake would have laughed but as he brushed Melody's hair away from her face, he noticed she was burning up again. "Tony canceled the meeting. Instead, I went to the doctor. We have..."

Melody sat up at the word 'doctor.' "Are you okay? What are you doing carrying me to bed if you're sick?" She asked, pressing her hand to Drake's forehead.

Drake managed to chuckle a little as he pulled Melody's hands off his face. He knew she wouldn't be able to tell his temperature that way because of her own fever. "I'm fine. Right now I just have a small headache."

Melody still looked concerned. "Maybe you should go so you don't catch whatever I have."

Drake shook his head. "Too late for that. We have the chickenpox."

Melody looked confused. "I don't have the chickenpox."

Drake noticed Melody scratching her stomach as she spoke. Drake held the hem of Melody's shirt and pulled it up enough to reveal a mess of red spots.

"Oh No!" Melody moaned as she stared down at her stomach.

"It's okay. I have them, too." Drake said raising up his shirt. "My doctor said he'd stop by after his last appointment. He can tell you himself then."

"I don't need a doctor." Melody said, crossing her arms.

"Please? It'll make me feel better. I'm worried about your fever."

"Fine, but only because I love you"

"Thank you." Drake said, kissing Melody's forehead. "I'm going to call Megan to see if she has them. I'll get you a glass of water and some more aspirin." Drake dialed Megan's number. He held the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he took the glass of water and aspirin to Melody.

"What's up?" Megan asked when she answered the phone.

"I have the chickenpox." Drake said, handing the items over to Melody. He caught the phone before it hit the floor. He could hear Megan laughing before he brought the phone back to his ear.

"You have what?" Megan asked.

"Melody and I have the chickenpox. I was calling because if I haven't had it before, then you probably didn't either."

"I got vaccinated for that when I started college. Can you imagine being an adult and getting...?" Megan started laughing again, realizing that's exactly the situation Drake was in.

"You know, I tried to be a good big brother. I called and checked on you because I thought you might be sick. Now, you're laughing at me." Drake whined.

"Sorry. How are you and Melody feeling? Kyle just called me and he has them as well. That's probably how you two got them. He told me that he's feeling awful."

"I'm okay. I just have a headache right now, and the bump things are starting to itch. Melody's not doing as well. She has a fever and she's really bummed out right now." Drake said.

"That's because I have the chickenpox! Isn't this something five year olds get or something?" Melody whined.

Megan laughed. "How 'bout I make up for laughing at you by coming over? I'll pick up some Calamine lotion and some groceries."

"Sure that sounds... Wait, you're just coming over to take a picture of me covered in spots." Drake said.

"I was thinking I could make some money if I sell the pictures to the tabloids and tell them you have Leprosy or something." Megan reasoned.

"Whatever." Drake was too tired to argue and didn't feel like shopping himself. "As long as you stop by my apartment as well and bring me a few days worth of clothes."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: No real plot movement in this chapter. I just wanted to write a chickenpox chapter. I'll try and make the next chapter exciting. Also, I decided to post the ETA's for new chapters and other random news in my profile, in case you're really desperate to know. **

**A/N 2: The PTBs (Powers That Be) punished me for giving Drake and Melody the chickenpox. I ended up with a horribly itchy rash on my back. I guess I should be careful what I write next time. **

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"Drake! Stop scratching!" 

Drake's hand paused on his stomach and he looked around the room. He thought Melody was still in her bath. "I'm not!" He called out after seeing she wasn't in the living room with him. Slowly, Drake started to scratch his stomach again.

"Drake, I can hear you scratching. You're going to end up tearing your skin up."

Drake lowered his shirt and looked around again. He started rubbing his stomach through the t-shirt. It wasn't quite as satisfying, but it didn't sound like he was clawing himself anymore so it would have to do. "I'm not scratching!" Drake lied, rubbing his stomach furiously with both hands.

"Oh, really?" Melody asked softly, her mouth right next to Drake's ear.

Drake let out a startled yelp as he fell of the couch. Drake looked calmer once he realized that Melody snuck up on him. He tried to look nonchalant, as if he had intended on being on the floor. "Hey, babe. How was your bath?"

Melody giggled. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. I didn't realize you would yelp like a wounded puppy."

"I didn't yelp." Drake said, standing up. "It was a manly wail of joy because I have a beautiful girlfriend."

Melody rolled her eyes and blushed. "Yeah, beautifully deformed." She muttered, pulling her robe shut more.

Drake knelt on the couch and placed his hands on the back of the couch. "At least you don't have leprosy." Drake said, referring to a news story they had seen about Drake on an entertainment show that morning.

"I can't believe your sister really did that. I thought she was just joking. Though, I'm grateful there wasn't a picture of me. I would have been horrified."

"Well, that's because my sister actually likes you. Besides, I've gotten used to her pranks. Now, she can use the money she made to fund her movie, which means I don't have to pay for it anymore."

"At least you're able to find the bright side of things." Melody kissed Drake. "I'll be right back with the Calamine lotion. I just want to put pajamas on."

Drake turned around and sat on the couch. His hand hovered over his stomach.

"Don't do it!" Melody shouted from her room.

Drake sighed and let his hand drop beside him. "But it itches!!" He whined.

"Whining. How very manly of you." Melody said sarcastically, letting herself fall next to Drake on the couch.

Drake pouted and crossed his arms. "I didn't whine."

Melody rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Take off your shirt."

Drake excitedly removed his shirt. "Your turn."

Melody shook her head and laughed. "No, I think God's trying to tell me something. If I sleep with boys, I get punished."

"Is God telling you to sleep with girls?" An amused smile formed on Drake's face.

"This is no joking matter. I'm deformed! I look like an alien!" Melody exclaimed dramatically before dissolving into giggles.

"You still don't have leprosy."

"I like how your mom called sounding all worried." Melody commented.

"I liked the show that said that I was born with this condition and the public didn't know because my makeup people are miracle workers. My favourite part was when they started wondering if Katie would have some sort of mutant baby." Drake frowned as soon as the words left his mouth. He had been trying to push Katie and the baby out of his mind.

"Here. Let me put some lotion on it." Melody said, pulling Drake's hand away from the spot he had started scratching.

"It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again." Drake said in a low voice as he ran his fingers gently over the back of Melody's neck.

Melody screamed and dropped the bottle of lotion on the floor. It started to form a small puddle on the floor and Drake bent over to pick it up. He looked at Melody and tried to suppress a smile. Melody was sitting on the other end of the couch, her knees drawn to her chest. She looked at Drake with wide eyes. "Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry. I thought of lotion and I thought of that line."

"I'm never going to sleep again." Melody said softly.

"I'm sorry. I'll never make you watch 'Silence of the Lambs' again." Drake moved a little closer to Melody.

Melody lowered her legs. "You're going to have to comfort me when I wake up screaming."

"I will." Drake was unable to suppress his smile anymore as he pulled Melody into his arms.

"I should kick you out. Leave you to fight off the chickenpox by yourself." Melody mumbled, cuddling close to Drake's chest.

"That's mean. Besides, who would take care of you?"

"I'd take care of myself."

"That's no fun. I like taking care of you." Drake kissed Melody's forehead. "Speaking of which, maybe I should call the doctor again. You still feel like you have a fever."

"It's fine. I get the sniffles and run a fever. That's just how I am sometimes."

"I'll get you some aspirin..." Drake said, gently stroking Melody's hair.

"I can get it." Melody said, lifting her head from Drake's chest. "You're cute when you worry, but you shouldn't worry about me so much. I'm not as delicate as you think I am."

"Yes... You are." Drake said, gently touching the side of Melody's face.

There were quiet moments when Melody would look with him with wide eyes. She would give him a look that begs, 'Please never hurt me.' What broke Drake's heart is that she would ever have to ask that. Though, she never vocalized it. But moments like these, she looked so vulnerable and Drake just wanted to keep her close forever.

"I'll be right back." Melody said softly.

Drake watched her go into the kitchen. He did admire her strength. She had this quiet strength about her. Sometimes, Drake could almost hear the mental pep talk she was giving herself. What scared him was sometimes she looked like she would shatter at the wrong word, despite that strength.

Melody came back with some paper towel and cleaned up the pink puddle on the floor. "You want to try this again?" She asked with a small smile.

Drake put his hands behind his head. "I'll be good this time."

Melody started to dab lotion on the spots that dotted Drake's chest and stomach. "I wish this came in different colours. I think blue dots would look good on you today."

"Blue would look better on you. It would match your eyes." Drake closed his eyes, trying not to think about how cold the lotion is. He just focused on how soft Melody's touch is.

"Don't get to comfortable. You have to colour me pink, next." Melody gently spotted some lotion of Drake's face.

"No problem." Drake said, a small smile starting to form on his face.

"Don't smile. Whatever you're planning. Stop." Melody touched Drake's shoulder so he would turn.

Drake opened his eyes. "Me? Plan something. Never!" He turned so his back was facing Melody.

"Well, there was the first night when you poured like half the bottle on my back. It doesn't work like massage oil. Then, there was the night you tried to hug me because you said we could 'share' the lotion you had on."

Drake chuckled. "I thought sharing is caring."

"Not when you share the chickenpox." Melody lightly dabbed lotion on Drake's back. "See, this is exactly how you should help me put lotion on me." Melody put the lotion bottle on the table. "All done."

"So, I can put my hands down now?" Drake asked lightly.

"You're the one who put your hands up. I didn't make you."

Drake turned around and smiled. "I was just showing that I wasn't going to try anything. Now take off your shirt."

Melody rolled her eyes. "You always look so giddy at that thought. It's not like we're going to have sex." She took off her shirt.

"Hey, You're bra matches the lotion!" Drake exclaimed.

"Way to focus, babe." Melody's skin started to flush.

"Sorry, I was listening." Drake said, raising his gaze to Melody's face. "It's just your bra does match the lotion. Now lay down."

"Why do I have to lay down?" Melody looked confused.

"I showed my vulnerability by raising my hands. You can show yours by laying down."

Melody rolled her eyes again before laying down. "Am I showing my submission by showing you my belly? Like a puppy does."

Drake gently rubbed Melody's stomach. "Sounds appropriate considering how much you love having your belly rubbed." Drake watched Melody close her eyes and let out a content sigh. He discovered that Melody calmed down when he rubbed her stomach the other day. She had been so restless and delirious with the fever and Drake rubbed her stomach gently for hours. It was the only thing that calmed her down.

"Talk about being vulnerable. You found my weakness." Melody said, she looked like she was ready to fall asleep.

An evil grin appeared on Drake's face. Now was his time to strike. While rubbing Melody's belly with one hand, he reached for the lotion with the other. He pulled his hand away and dabbed a small amount of lotion on Melody's stomach.

Melody's eyes flew open. She let out a shriek. "Drake, that's freezing!"

Drake laughed and started to dab the dots on Melody's stomach. "It's not my fault. It was cold when you put it on me as well."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to lull me into a false sense of security first."

Drake moved up to Melody's chest and neck. "So, are we ever going to have sex again?"

Melody giggled. "Not while you are covered in cotton candy pink spots."

"But you have spots, too." Drake whined.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't want to have sex with me while I look like this. Besides, I'm taking a vow of celibacy. God punishes me for sleeping with boys."

"Don't joke like that." Drake said softly.

"Aww, did I bruise someone's ego?" Melody teased. Drake shrugged and Melody looked serious. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I would love to, because you were amazing. Honestly, it's because I don't feel up to it."

"I know." Drake pressed his hand to Melody's forehead. He sighed. "I wish you didn't feel so crappy. This is affecting you a lot more than it's affecting me."

"I'm fine." Melody said softly. She was looked at Drake with those 'please don't hurt me' eyes as he gently dabbed her face with lotion.

Drake took Melody's hand and helped her sit up. She turned her back toward Drake but instead of putting lotion on it, Drake wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Drake rested his head against Melody's back. "You okay?" Melody asked, resting her hands over his.

"I'm fine." Drake took a relaxing breath and listened to Melody's heart beating. It was slow and steady and calming. Drake slowly raised his hand to Melody's chest, finding pleasure in the way her heart started to beat faster. He lowered his hand and sat there for a couple of minutes just listening to Melody's heart slow down.

"You need to shave." Melody said, breaking the moment. "It's too scratchy."

Drake chuckled and kissed Melody's shoulder before pulling away. "I love you." He said as he picked the lotion up again.

"Do you think you can teach me to play the guitar? I mean, we're running out of ways to keep ourselves entertained and we still have a few days of this."

"Yeah, sure. I'll ask Megan to stop by my place and bring me my guitar tomorrow." Drake finished putting lotion on Melody's back. "Though, weren't you just complaining this morning and telling me to get my 'damn boy things' out of your way?"

Melody turned and faced Drake. "No, no. You misheard me. I said, 'I love you and I love how you feel comfortable enough to leave your things lying around for me to trip over.'"

"Oh, I remember now. So, you didn't say, 'Drake, if you bring another thing into my apartment I'm breaking up with you!'"

"Oh, I said that." Melody leaned her head on Drake's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I was just delirious with the fever when I said that. It was the fever talking."

"I thought so. You'd never threaten to break up with me... because you love me."

"Yup, because I love you."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Out of all the chapters so far, this was the hardest one to write. Maybe it was just because I was getting distracted every two seconds. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Please Review, and thanks to everyone who reviewed so far. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song 'American Pie' by Don McLean. Though, if I ever did learn how to play it, my guitar would be permanently attached to me. **

* * *

"Bye Bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry..."

"I'm really going to kill you." Gabby said, leaning across the counter and glaring at Drake.

"Why?" Drake flashed an innocent smile.

Gabby didn't look amused. "She's been singing that song all week."

Drake looked over and smiled at the look of concentration on Melody's face as she strummed on the guitar Drake bought her. "She's getting better at it."

"You know, I gave her a break because she was sick and she was so happy to return to work with a new skill... but seriously, Drake, she's been carrying around that damn guitar for a month now. A month! Does she sleep with it, too?"

"No, I don't allow that. I'm a very jealous man." Drake said seriously.

"This is all your fault. Since she met you she's been so damn..."

"Happy?" Drake offered.

"Annoying."

Drake took a sip of his coffee. "She's not annoying. She's... cheerful."

"A long, long time ago..." Melody sang softly in the corner.

"No!" Gabby yelled. "Don't even think about starting! What the fuck are you doing here anyway? It's your day off!"

Melody looked offended as she came over to the counter. "Drake wanted coffee. And you really shouldn't yell at the customers. This is why I always get more tips than you do."

"No, it's because you have bigger boobs than I do." Gabby snapped. She tossed a plastic cup to Melody. "Go outside and maybe you'll make some money."

"Oh! I'll go sing outside that shop around the corner! Then, every one will all go in there instead of here! They'll love me and you'll lose customers." Melody stomped away. She spun around quickly to look at Gabby again. "No! I'll sing in front of here! At the top of my lungs just to spite you!!"

"Bitch!" Gabby and Melody muttered simultaneously causing Drake to almost choke on his coffee.

"This isn't funny." Gabby said as the music started up outside. "I don't know why you're taking so long to drink your damn coffee. It's almost like you enjoy torturing me."

"Why would I torture you, Gabby? Especially when you're always so nice to me."

"Shut up." Gabby watched Melody play. "She is getting really good at that song."

"_Did you write the book of love? And do you have faith in God above, If the Bible tells you so? Do you believe in rock 'n roll? Can music save your mortal soul?And can you teach me how to dance real slow? Well, I know that you're in love with him 'cause I saw you dancin' in the gym. You both kicked off your shoes. Man, I dig those rhythm and blues_." Melody sang at the top of her lungs from the sidewalk.

Drake chuckled. "She really loves that part."

Gabby stared at Drake for a long moment. "You really do love her."

Drake looked confused. "Yeah, why?"

Gabby shook her head. "I don't know why it just hit me like that. You better not hurt her."

"I'm not planning to."

Gabby shrugged. "People really don't plan out things like that. I mean, what happens if that kid turns out to be yours?"

Drake frowned. "She told you about that?"

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Unlike some people around here, I'm actually literate. Did you really think I didn't know who you are? I mean, give me some credit. I didn't recognize you immediately, but you've been coming in here for three months..."

Drake laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult your intelligence."

"But, seriously..." Gabby leaned forward and spoke softly. "What if the kid's yours?"

Drake shrugged. "She said it wouldn't change anything between us."

"If you really believe that, then you're as naive as she is. Look, Melody has all the patience and kindness a girl can have, but do you think she's really not going to be hurt watching you play daddy to another woman's child?"

"Maybe the kid's not mine."

"Oh, Denial. I love this part." Gabby said almost gleefully.

"Well, what else am I suppose to say, Gabby?" Drake snapped. "It happened before I met Melody. I really hope the kid isn't mine. Do you want me to break up with Melody because there's a chance I might have a kid soon? I love her. I'm not going to break up with her."

"I didn't say break up with her. I just want you to take a look at how happy she is." Gabby nodded toward Melody happily playing her guitar on the sidewalk. "And think very carefully about what you do over the next few months because as great as she is, she is going to be hurt if it is yours."

"She loves me..." Drake said, unsure of how that fact played into the debate.

"Yeah, that's what worries me." Gabby said.

"We should get going..." Drake got up and walked outside.

Melody was looking in her plastic cup. She looked at Drake when she heard him approach. "I made $2.35!" She said excitedly, holding out the cup to show Drake.

"That's great, babe." Drake gently kissed Melody's cheek.

"What's wrong? Was Gabby mean to you again? She's like that to everyone."

"I'm fine... Let's go"  
-----

"Katie called me." Megan said nonchalantly as she watched her cast goofing off.

"What? When?" Drake asked, staring at his sister in disbelief. "Why would she call you? Does she have a death wish?"

Megan chuckled. "Maybe, that girl was never too bright."

Drake looked around to make sure no one was in hearing distance of them. "So, what did she want?"

"She wanted my help. Somehow she's convinced that if I think you should get back together with her, I can talk you into getting back together with her." Megan said leaning against the wall. She glanced at her watch. "Is Melody's makeup done?" She yelled to her crew.

"She'll be ready in like five minutes." Someone called out.

Megan shook her head. "If we don't get going this won't be our last day." She muttered mostly to herself.

"Didn't she mean you'll blackmail me into getting back together with her?" Drake asked.

"Hmm?" Megan turned her attention back toward Drake. "Oh, that. No, I told you she's not too bright. She actually thinks you follow my orders blindly on your own free will or something."

Drake laughed. "I guess it proves how much she didn't know me."

"How did you end up with her for so long?"

Drake shrugged. "You'll understand someday. Sometimes you just get so wrapped up in a person that you can't see what's really happening. It's complicated... I guess you must think that sounds dumb."

Megan shook her head. "No, it's just sad that it took so long for you to see. Then, when you finally do, she's knocked up."

"Why does everyone keep bring that up today?"

Megan shrugged. "The next three months are going to go by fast. Do you know what you're going to do if it is yours?"

"I plan on spending the next three months in church praying that it's not mine."

An amused smile started to form on Megan's face. "I'm sure that will work splendidly." There was a moment of silence between them before Megan continued. "She brought up Dylan."

"Dylan meaning Dad?"

"Walter's our dad. I get how I went through a phase where I called him Walter and didn't pay much attention to him, but he was there when it counted. That's more than Dylan ever did." Megan snapped.

Drake held up his hands defensively. "Sorry, I was just trying to figure out who we were talking about. Why did she bring him up?"

"It was just part of her argument. She said that it would be good if my niece or nephew had a dad around. Did I want the same fate for my niece or nephew as I had?"

"She makes it sound like we were orphans."

Megan laughed. "Compared to the way she grew up, we were poor orphans. I told her that she had enough money that she could buy the baby a dad if she wanted to."

"You know, I wouldn't be like Dylan. I want to be more of a dad than a random birthday card every couple of years." Drake said softly.

"I really hope it isn't yours. She'll just suck you in again if it is." Drake opened his mouth to argue but Megan cut him off. "You're a good guy. That's how she'll get you, because she already knows that you'll be a good dad."

"Melody's ready." Kyle said.

"I hate this scene. Can't you rewrite it?" Drake complained.

"Sure, Drake, let me rewrite the movie because you hate this scene." Megan replied sarcastically.

"But you know about..."

"I talked to Melody. She knew it was coming. I specifically planned it for the last day so if it's too much for her she doesn't have to worry about anything else."

"But..."

Megan sighed. "I'm not going to push her. If she says she's done. It's done. I'll just do some creative editing. I'd really love to get this scene the way I pictured it but either way I need to get some shots to piece together."

"Don't worry." Melody said, taking Drake's hand. "I'm a professional. I can handle this."

"See, she's fine. I need to go talk to Paul for a second before we begin." Megan said.

Drake turned to Melody. "I didn't mean for you to overhear that."

"It's fine. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, too. What if I freak out and ruin the movie?"

Drake frowned. He hated seeing Melody in this type of makeup. She just looked so pale and hungover or something. Drake knew it was fake, but it looked so convincing. He also knew that the movie was kinda dark and twisted. Melody spent most of it fighting with Paul's character but this was the only physical fight scene they had and Drake hated that Melody would have to pretend something that hits so close to what she's actually been through.

"You don't have to do this." Drake said softly.

Melody chuckled nervously. "It's fine. It might be the only acting I do that'll look convincing."

"Don't be silly. Every scene you've done has been brilliant. I'm really impressed with you."

Melody kissed Drake softly. "Thanks for being protective of me."

"It's because I love you." Drake whispered.

"Come on, enough mushy stuff. We need to get moving!" Megan yelled.  
-----

"Cut!" Megan screamed an hour later. "Everybody... just take five or something!"

The scene wasn't going well. Drake watched Melody sigh and talk quietly to Megan and Paul.

Megan walked over to Drake. "Paul's scared that you're going to kick his ass."

"He said that?"

"No, but he's holding back. Melody's trying to tell him that he can be a little rougher."

Drake frowned. "She's acting scared enough during the scenes."

"I wanted her to cry during the scene. She's holding back because he is. She said she'd rather get it right in one take than keep messing up her makeup for nothing." Megan sighed. Megan went over to Paul and Melody again. Melody's expression changed as Megan whispered something to her.

Megan looked satisfied when she returned. "Action!"

Drake watched the scene unfold. It was weird to watch people he knows act completely different than how they would normally act.

Melody was yelling and she threw a lamp at Paul. That was new. When Paul shoved Melody against the wall, it looked a lot rougher than it did during the earlier takes.

Drake didn't even realize that he was on his feet until he felt Megan's hand around his wrist. He glanced at her and sat back down when she glared at him.

Drake had to remind himself that they were just acting. The way Paul slapped Melody backhandedly looked way too real as well. The only thing that kept Drake from attacking Paul was the fact that it didn't sound like he touched her. It was just the angle they were at and Megan had explained how they would add the sound of the slap during editing.

"Cut!" Megan said when the scene was over. "That's a wrap! That was brilliant you guys!"

When Paul stepped away from Melody. Melody sank to the floor, still crying.

"Mel, I'm sorry. I..." Paul started, looking helpless.

Melody waved her hand dismissively. "I'm fine."

"Melody..." Drake said gently. He put a hand on Melody's shoulder.

Melody pulled away. She didn't look at Drake. "Don't touch me."

Drake sighed and sat next to Melody. "I'm sorry."

Melody's hand reached out for Drake's. It hovered an inch above his for a moment before she finally gave up and pulled her hand back. "I... I just need a minute to get out of character." Melody said before crying harder.

Drake sat there feeling helpless. The only satisfying moment was glaring at Megan when she tried to approach.

After what felt like forever, Melody finally wiped the sleeve of her shirt over her eyes. She leaned against Drake who put his arm around her. Melody laughed softly. "Sorry about that. I got all set to cry for that scene... I couldn't just turn it off once I got going."

"So, you're not hurt? That scene looked intense that last time."

"I got a fright because it was more intense." Melody chuckled. "It's alright though, I think I scared Paul when I threw that lamp."

"Yeah, you could have warned me about that!" Paul said lightly, as he approached Drake and Melody. He had a bottle of water in his hand which he handed to Melody.

"Thanks." Melody said. "Yeah, the lamp thing was on impulse. You looked so angry and I was just trying to match the anger level."

"Megan seems pleased with it." Paul commented. "Well, I got to go meet my girlfriend for dinner. See you guys later."

"So, you're okay now?" Drake asked Melody after Paul left.

Melody nodded. "I'll live."

"What did Megan say to you before?"

Melody shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Though, I'll say this about your sister, she's going to be a great director. She certainly knows how to manipulate people."

Drake chuckled. "Yeah, Josh and I know that first hand. She's had years of practice."


	16. Chapter 16

A small whimpering sound started to pull Drake out of his sleep. Without opening his eyes, Drake reached his hand toward Melody's side of the bed. His hand searched blindly for her. A louder whimpering noise followed by a loud crash made Drake open his eyes. 

Melody wasn't in bed next to him.

"Shit!" Melody exclaimed from the floor.

"You okay?" Drake sat up and moved to Melody's side of the bed.

"I think so." Melody was sitting on the floor with her left hand pressed to her forehead

"You're bleeding." Drake said, noticing the blood dripping from where Melody's palm was pressed to her head.

"It'll be fine. I'm sorry I woke you." Melody tried to get up but winced the moment her right hand pressed against the floor.

"What happened?" Drake asked, picking Melody up.

"I had a nightmare and fell out of bed."

Drake carried Melody to the bathroom. He sat her on the counter next to the sink. Drake looked at Melody's right hand. It was already starting to swell. He wasn't sure where to start. "Come on. Let's get you to the hospital."

"I'm fine." Melody said. "Just give me a minute to think." She turned toward the mirror. When she moved her hand, some blood gushed down her face. Melody sighed and quickly pressed her hand to the wound again.

Drake felt his stomach turn. "Stitches?"

"Hand me a wash cloth?"

Drake handed Melody a washcloth. Melody dampened the wash cloth and cleaned her face the best she could. She pressed the wash cloth to the wound. She turned and looked at Drake. "Feel like an early morning ER trip?" She asked with a weak smile.

"Yeah, let's go!" Drake said quickly.

Melody laughed. "Calm down. Let's get dressed. It's not so bad that you have to rush down there in your underwear."

"Sorry... It's just that the blood is kinda creeping me out."

"I'm sorry. You don't have to go. I can go by myself." Melody offered.

Drake was busy getting dressed. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I sent you out into the streets bleeding? Besides, I don't mind hospitals. I'm just a little upset because my girlfriend is bleeding from her head."

"Sorry." Melody said softly. She started looking in her closet for something.

"What?" Drake asked, confused. "You don't have to be sorry." He walked over to the closet. "What are you looking for?"

"This." Melody pulled out a ski cap. "Can you help me? If you make sure it's over the washcloth. It should give me a couple of minutes to get ready."

"Yeah, Sure."

-----  
About ten minutes later, they entered the Emergency room. Fifteen minutes after that, they were waiting in one of the curtained off exam areas.

"You're going to end up losing all your blood before they check on you." Drake said, feeling annoyed. He had been pacing the room for five minutes.

"Babe, I appreciate that you care, but the pacing is making me dizzy."

Drake sat in the chair near the exam table that Melody was sitting on. "You're taking this awfully well."

Melody chuckled. "It's absurd! I mean what a way to start the morning! I have a nightmare and Bam! I split open my head, and did God knows what to my arm. Once the shock wears off, I'll be a crying mess for the rest of the day."

"I didn't mean..." Drake gently touched Melody's leg. "I'm sorry. I'm just feeling anxious."

"Well, Melody Harris! It's been a while." The doctor said, walking into the curtained area. "It's been..." The doctor glanced at the chart in his hand. "Wow, a whole year since I last saw you in here. How are things?"

"Well, I kinda broke my head, and maybe my hand. Other than that, things are better than last year."

"Well, that's something." The doctor extended his hand toward Drake. "I'm Dr. McElroy."

"I'm Drake."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Melody replied. "Drake, this is Gabby's cousin Luke."

"So, let's see this 'broken' head of yours, Mel." Luke said.

Melody carefully took off the ski cap and the washcloth. The bleeding had mostly stopped and there was a three inch gash above Melody's right eye.

"Yeah, you definitely need stitches." Luke got everything set up. "You know the drill." He said as he injected the needle into the gash.

Melody whimpered slightly. "Ow. I hate that part!" Drake gently squeezed her hand.

"Wanna tell me how this happened?" Luke asked, as he began stitching.

"I was having a nightmare... and I fell off the bed."

Drake noticed Luke's hand hesitate for a second at that answer. He also noticed the very subtle but slightly accusatory glance that Lucas gave him.

"Maybe you should talk to Pam about your nightmares." Luke said.

Melody sighed. "I told you. I don't want to talk to Pam, or anyone. I've been doing okay. I haven't had a nightmare this bad in a couple of months."

Lucas finished up with the stitches and taped a gauze pad over the stitches. "Are you sure?" He asked as he took off his gloves and threw them in the trash bin.

"Don't ask it like that." Melody looked at Drake and a small smile appeared on her face. "Things have been going well for me."

"I'm just saying... It was around this time last year that..." The sentence died when Luke saw the confused look on Drake's face. Luke took out a small pen light and waved it over Melody's eyes. "You know your name and the date and everything like that, right?"

"Gee, Luke, I hope this isn't how you examine all your patients."

"You know how this goes. I was just trying to save time."

Melody laughed. "Yes, I know all that stuff. No, I didn't lose consciousness. Yes, I can still touch my nose." Melody said, touching her nose. "And my head hurts like hell. So... maybe a slight concussion?"

"I'd say so." Luke pointed to Melody's bruised hand. "Can you move your hand?"

Melody moved it a little but quickly stopped. She held it out for Luke to examine. "Looks like you get x-rays today, too"  
-----

Twenty minutes later, Melody was back in the exam area and laying on the table.

"You okay?" Drake asked, gently touching Melody's arm.

"I think we've moved into the 'weepy, I hate everything because it hurts so bad' portion of the morning." Melody said softly.

"Anything I can do to make it less miserable?"

Melody quietly ran her fingers over Drake's hand. "You love me, right?" She finally asked softly.

"Yeah. Of course I do. I love you very much."

"I'm sorry I upset you this morning."

Drake pulled the chair over and sat down next to the table. Melody turned her head toward him and Drake rested his chin on the table. "You didn't upset me. I was upset that you were hurt. It's two different things."

"Yeah, but if I didn't freak out over a nightmare..."

"You didn't do that on purpose." Drake gently brushed his hand against Melody's cheek. He was about to ask about the nightmare but Luke came back in.

Melody sat up a little too quickly and held her head.

"Yeah, I'd take it slow for the next couple of days." Luke said, waving his penlight over Melody's eyes again. "And come back if you feel worse."

"What about the x-ray?" Melody asked.

Luke put the x-ray on the light board. "You managed to get a small break here..." Lucas pointed to a small line on the x-ray. "You just had the bad luck of falling on it the wrong way. I'll get you all set up with a cast and some painkillers and you'll be set to go"  
-----

That night, Drake couldn't sleep. He was sitting on the couch, gently pressing on the guitar strings trying not to make a sound. His fingers moved lightly over the strings as he tried to hear the notes in his head. It was the first time in months that Drake felt motivated to play something.

Melody had reluctantly fell asleep a little while earlier. Drake was so scared to that she would fall off the bed again that he moved her night stand to the far wall, and lined the floor next to her bed with pillows.

A strange feeling sat inside Drake. He remembered what Megan had said that day she first met Melody. There was something that Drake didn't know and he was getting the feeling that it was that something that was causing her nightmares...

"Can't sleep?"

Drake turned and saw Melody. "Something like that. Did I wake you?"

"No... I..." Melody frowned. "What are you working on?"

"Nothing really... Just a tune mostly. I don't have much in the way of lyrics."

Melody sat at the other end of the couch. "Will you play it for me?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it? There's really not much to it."

Melody brought her legs up onto the couch and made herself comfortable. Drake noticed how bulky the cast on her arm looked. Drake briefly wondered how many times she's needed stitches in the past.

"I'm sure. You don't have to play it if you don't want to, but I really would like to hear it." Melody said softly.

Drake nodded. Drake started to play the tune that was in his head, his fingers moving easily over the guitar strings. It was suddenly so easy. So easy that it made him wonder why he hadn't played in so long. There was no pain. Maybe it had to do with the way that Melody was watching him with wide eyes.

When Drake got to the point where the chorus would be, he closed his eyes and started singing. "_She falls to her knees screaming God please make something of me Cause I never wanted anything like what I wanna be right now, An angel again, An angel again somehow_."

"Wow." Melody said softly.

Drake opened his eyes and put down the guitar. He moved closer to Melody. "You're beautiful."

Melody laughed lightly. "I'm a train wreck."

"No, you're not. You just had a bad day."

Melody moved closer and Drake put his arm around her. "I'm sorry that I made you worry."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you have nothing to be sorry about?"

"Just a couple of more times. I feel bad." Melody said before yawning.

"Let's go back to bed." Drake said.

In bed, Melody cuddled close to Drake. Drake gently rubbed her back. "Do you have nightmares a lot?" Drake asked softly.

"I used to."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Drake could feel Melody tense. She took a deep breath. "Usually, I'm trapped on the subway. Then, suddenly... it feels like something inside of me is dying. I can't find a way off the train and nobody helps..."

"I'm sorry..." Drake couldn't think of what to say.

"Don't be. To be honest, in the past couple of months, I only have nightmares the nights you stay at your apartment."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Melody yawned again. "Because it would have sounded like a pathetic excuse to get you to stay every night. Not that it matters. You practically live here."

Drake wondered if he should suggest they officially move in together. He also wanted to ask what happened the year before that caused the nightmares.

His mouth was open but Melody's slow steady breathing told him that she was asleep. Drake held her a little tighter, hoping that he could ward off her nightmares.

* * *

**A/N: The song is 'Somehow' by Drake Bell. I'm starting to become obsessed with his music. I need a life. lol.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Random references to the series in this chapter. **

* * *

A soft whimper stirred Drake from his sleep. "Baby, wake up. It's just a dream." He said soothingly, holding Melody a little tighter. 

Melody gasped, her left hand pressed against Drake's chest as if to make sure he was real.

"I'm here. You're okay." Drake gently kissed the top of Melody's head.

Melody pulled away from Drake and rubbed her eyes. "Did I wake you?"

"No." Drake lied. "I was already up. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Drake was positive that was a lie. He watched as the haunted look on Melody's face slowly faded away. For a whole week, Melody either woke up in tears or looking like she had just seen a ghost. The lack of sleep seemed to be wearing on her. She looked a lot paler than usual.

"What time is your brother coming?"

"Mindy and I have a meeting with Tony at 11. I'm going to meet her there and Josh is going to head to my apartment so the baby can take a nap. Then, I was thinking after the meeting we would get Josh and Emily and stop by the coffee shop to see you. It'll probably be about time your shift ends."

"Sounds good. Is Megan coming to dinner tonight?"

"Yeah."

"That sounds nice." Melody said, stifling a yawn.

"You want to go back to sleep?"

"I can't. I need to take a shower and it takes a little longer because of..." She held up her right arm with the cast. "They should have came to visit last week, when I didn't look so wrecked."

"I told you, you're beautiful. Besides, if Josh gets annoying, we can freak him out by showing off your stitches."  
-----

"You know, I hate to admit it, but you did really great." Drake said.

"Thanks. I appreciate your gushing gratitude for my amazing negotiating skills." Mindy replied.

"How 'bout I buy you a chocolate muffin to show my appreciation?"

Mindy shook her head. "Don't think you're getting away that easy. I know how much money you make because I negotiated your contract."

"But I'm family! I'm hurt, I thought you were doing this out of the goodness in your heart."

"Stop being dramatic. It's for Emily. We're saving up so she can go to a good school one day. Which reminds me, did you tell Josh to tell us we're almost there?"

Drake nodded. "He should be there about now."

"So, are you nervous about us meeting the girlfriend?" Mindy asked.

Drake shrugged. "I don't know. Megan likes her, so I'm going to take that as a good sign. I guess we'll find out if you guys like her soon enough."

When they entered the coffee shop, Josh was sitting with Emily on his lap and Melody was sitting across from him.

"Hey, You guys look like you're getting along." Drake said, putting his hand on Melody's shoulder.

"Hey." Melody said, standing up and kissing Drake's cheek. "How'd your meeting go?"

"Great. My contract ends at the end of the year. They just want me to release another single and do a couple of small shows and charity events until then. It was really all thanks to Mindy." Drake gestured to Mindy. "Mindy, this is Melody."

"Nice to meet you, Melody." Mindy said.

Melody smiled. "I'm so glad to finally meet you guys. Can I get you anything?"

"We'll have two coffees and a chocolate muffin." Drake said.

"She's certainly cute." Mindy commented. She took Emily from Josh.

Melody came back with the coffee and muffin and sat next to Drake. "So, your brother has been telling me a lot of interesting things."

Drake put his arm around Melody's shoulder. "Oh, yeah, like what?"

"How come you never told me you were married before?" Melody asked seriously.

"Well, it was a long time ago and..." Drake said, not sure of how to explain it.

"Oh my God, it's true? I thought Josh was just messing with me!" Melody exclaimed, laughing.

"Well, it was all Josh's fault. Besides," Drake looked at Josh. "Josh should watch what he says. I know a lot about him, too."

"Stuff I don't know about?" Mindy asked.

"You wouldn't." Josh said.

Drake smiled. "This one time..."

"Drake crashed a helicopter!" Josh blurted out.

"What?!" Melody and Mindy exclaimed.

"Dude! That wasn't all my fault." Drake said.

"Drake's scared of heights!"

"Josh! Well, Josh is obsessed with Oprah!" Drake announced loud enough for everyone to hear. Then, he said quieter so just Melody, Mindy and Josh could hear, "She even had to get a restraining order against him."

"Well, that's only because I hit her with the car." Josh said. He covered his mouth.

"You hit Oprah with your car?" Mindy turned and looked at Josh.

"It was his fault!" Josh said, pointing to Drake.

The argument stopped when Emily let out a loud burp. Emily giggled and clapped her hands. The toy she had in her hand dropped to the ground.

"Whoa there. What do we say? Excuse me." Mindy said.

"Oohs me!" Emily said, turning to look up at Mindy.

"Close enough." Mindy said with a laugh.

Melody leaned over to pick up Emily's toy. She dusted it off with her hand before handing it back to Emily. "Now who taught you to burp like that? That sounds an awful lot like your Uncle Drake."

"Actually, it sounds a lot like her mom." Josh said, nudging Mindy.

Mindy tried to look offended. "I'm a girl! Girls do not make sounds like that!"

"Well, you're daughter burped. She's a girl."

Mindy kissed the top of Emily's head. "That's because she's a baby. She doesn't know any better. I like Melody's idea. Let's blame Drake."

"I can see where this is going. The same thing happened when Megan was born." Drake said. "It was all, 'Drake, why did you give the baby soda?' and 'Drake, where did Megan learn that word?'"

"And I'm sure you were completely innocent." Mindy said.

"At least 30 percent of the time I was." Drake replied.

Emily tossed the toy across the table to Melody. Melody laughed and handed it back to Emily. "You can have it. Your uncle is entertaining enough that I don't need toys."

Emily grabbed Melody's thumb with one hand and the toy with the other. "Ma?" Emily asked, looking at Melody with wide eyes.

Drake felt Melody tense. "Yeah, it's yours." Melody said, her voice wavering slightly.

"Are you okay?" Mindy asked.

Melody cleared her throat. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just remembered that I have to go do something before dinner."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Drake asked softly.

Melody smiled and kissed Drake's cheek. "I'm fine." She stood up. "Sorry to bolt like this, but I'll see you guys later. I'm really looking forward to dinner."

Drake frowned, trying to understand what happened. "She's been having a rough week." Drake said, as if it explained Melody's sudden exit. "I should go see what's up. Can you guys make it back to my apartment all right?"

"Yeah, sure." Josh said.

Drake got up. "I'm really sorry. You guys don't mind, do you?"

"It's fine. You're obviously worried about her." Mindy said.

"Call me if you guys get lost or anything." Drake said, heading out the door.  
-----

"Melody? Are you okay?" Drake asked, letting himself in Melody's apartment. He heard a small sobbing sound. He walked into the bedroom and saw Melody sitting on the floor in the corner. "What's wrong?"

Melody looked up. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried. Why are you crying?"

"I didn't think it would be so hard..." Melody wiped her eyes. "You should be visiting with your brother. God, they must think I'm so rude."

Drake sat next to Melody. "They were just confused about what happened. You looked like you saw a ghost."

Melody let out a small laugh before sobbing again.

Drake noticed the paper in Melody's hand. He reached for it as it slipped from Melody's fingers. Drake looked down at it. It was a sonogram picture. Drake didn't know what to say.

"I was pregnant... last year..."

"What happened?" Drake asked before realizing how stupid that question was.

"I lost her..." Melody sighed. "We don't have to talk about it. You should go visit your family."

"No." Drake held Melody's hand. "If you're willing to talk about it, I'm willing to listen."

Melody stared at Drake for a moment. "Why?"

Drake moved so he was sitting in front of Melody. "How can I leave when you're looking at me like that? You look like your crushing under the weight of the things you're trying not to say. Melody, I want to help. I promise that there's nothing you can say that will make me want to leave."

"You promise? You promise you won't leave?"

Drake was struck by how vulnerable Melody looked. She still had a white gauze pad taped to her forehead, her arm in a cast, she had tears streaming down her face and she was begging him not to leave. "I could never leave you." Drake said earnestly.

Melody took a deep breath. "Ben and I had broken up around the beginning of last year. I filmed the pilot for that show and I thought it would be a great opportunity for me. I thought that maybe if I was successful and kept myself busy, I wouldn't keep getting back together with Ben..." Melody was talking quickly, like she was trying to get the words out as fast as she could.

"The pilot was a hit. I was offered the part and they wanted me to move out to LA. It was going to be so great. That's when I found out I was pregnant. I turned down the job. I knew that I wanted to keep the baby. There was never a doubt in my mind. So, I decided to give up acting and get a stable job. That's when I practically begged Gabby for the job. I only knew her from the couple of times I had seen her in Joey's bar, and Had been in the coffee shop a couple of times since I moved into the neighborhood. So, that story I told you about how I got the job, you can add being pregnant to that story." Melody made a small sound that was almost a chuckle.

"I told Ben. I guess part of me wanted him to say that it would be okay. That he would be there to help me through it. He freaked out and told me it wasn't his, as if he actually believed that I had slept with someone else. So, I was on my own. Though, Joey and Gabby were there for me. After I started showing, they figured the rest out on their own. Did I ever tell you how I know Joey?"

Drake shook his head.

"He was my dad's best friend. He was really there for my dad after my mom died, always inviting us down to the city or coming up to our house for holidays. He evened offered to take me in when my dad killed himself, but his wife had just left him and he had little Joey to take care of and I didn't want to get in the way... Anyway, he was ready to kill Ben. He always hated how Ben treated me..."

Melody wiped her eyes again. She looked down and it sounded like she was trying to catch her breath. Drake rubbed her leg gently. "It's okay... take your time."

Melody leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. "I was about 7 and a half months pregnant. That's like really pregnant. I had a huge stomach and the baby moved around all the time." She opened her eyes and looked at Drake. She was talking slowly now. "It's so weird to think about. I went through so many firsts during those seven months and then... I never got to experience the rest. I never got to experience the things I should have. I never got to see her smile or..."

Melody took a breath before continuing. "I was on the subway. I was on my way to pick up clothes for the baby. I didn't even know what I was having, I wanted to be surprised... I remember it was hot and I was standing. Seven months pregnant and I couldn't get a seat. I remember a sharp pain in my stomach. I held onto the pole and put my other hand on my stomach. When I looked down, I saw a splash of blood on the floor below me."

"The subway doors closed before I could get off and I passed out before we made it to the next stop. I woke up in the ambulance and I remember them asking me if I had felt the baby move at all that morning." Tears started to flow again and Melody's voice was shaking."If I had been paying attention, I would have known something was wrong. She didn't move that morning and I hadn't thought anything of it. I mean, I tried to do everything right. I ate all the right things. I read everything I could about being pregnant and I didn't think it was weird that I hadn't felt the baby move! I was so preoccupied by thinking about what to buy her that I didn't notice that she stopped moving!"

"She died and I had to go through the motions of delivering her. I didn't really feel it. They had me so pumped up with pain killers and something to relax me." The look on Melody's face was breaking Drake's heart. "After they... autopsied her,Luke tried to explain to me what happened. I didn't really understand everything he said. Something about her genes and... I guess she just didn't stand a chance."

"God, Melody..." Drake wasn't sure how to respond.

Melody wiped her eyes again. "I gave up acting so I could get a steady job to take care of her. When she... I just couldn't bring myself to go back to it. Somehow, I thought I was being punished. Like, I made the wrong choice or something. So, I lost acting and the baby. I guess that sounds dumb... It just felt like I didn't deserve either of them."

Drake pulled Melody into his arms. "No one deserves to go through something like that." Drake said softly. Suddenly, Melody's nightmares made sense. That's why she looked like she saw a ghost at the coffee shop. Emily was around the same age her baby would have been... "Do you want me to cancel dinner?"

Melody shook her head. "No. I'll be okay. I can't avoid babies forever."

"Are you sure? I'm sure they'd..." Drake stopped. "I'm sorry. I won't say anything."

"You can tell them." Melody pulled away from Drake. "I don't have the energy to go through it again, but you can tell them if you want." Melody stood up. "I have to go take a shower. I feel so..."

Drake stood up and reached for Melody's hand. "Is there anything you need?"

Melody hugged Drake. "Just tell me you love me."

Drake kissed Melody's cheek. "I love you so much. If I could take this pain away from you. I would in a heartbeat."

"I love you. Thank you... for listening." Melody stepped away from Drake. "I'll be there in an hour. Can you tell them I'm sorry for my little freak out?"

"Don't worry about them. They'll understand."

After the bathroom door closed, Drake sat on the bed and stared at the sonogram picture.It wasn't like one of the first sonogram pictures that Josh had shown him of Emily. Drake remembered staring at a little spot that Josh assured him was the future baby.

In this picture, It clearly looked like a baby.Drake could see all five fingers on the baby's little hand that was visible in the picture. He couldn't imagine...

Finally, he got up. He wasn't sure where Melody kept the picture, so he took the time to find a place where it would be safe.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thanks to GatorGrrrl for all the help. :) Also, thanks for everyone who has reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. Please keep reviewing. :)**

* * *

"So, she would have been Emily's age..." Josh said after Drake told them what happened to Melody.

Mindy picked up Emily and held her tight. "I can't imagine..." She sighed and kissed Emily before setting the baby back on the floor to play.

Emily stood and unsteadily made her way over to Josh, holding her hands out. Josh picked Emily up and sat her on his lap. "She seemed okay when it was just Emily and me there."

Mindy turned to Josh. "Did you hear what Emily said, though? I think she was trying to ask if the toy was hers but instead of saying 'mine' she said 'ma.' I don't blame Melody. I'm surprised she still wants to have dinner with us."

"Well, it wasn't your fault. She feels bad about leaving so suddenly. She wanted to make a good impression," Drake said.

Josh looked over to where Megan was sitting. "You've been really quiet."

"That's because she knew." Drake looked at Megan. "Didn't you?" Drake couldn't help but feel a little angry. A thought occurred to Drake when Megan didn't say anything. "That's what you talked about. That's how you got her to cry."

"It worked," Megan said.

"I can't believe you. It's bad enough that you knew about it, but you had to use it against her?"

"I didn't mean to. It sort of slipped out. We were all frustrated that day."

"She's been having nightmares about it all week and it started after that last day of shooting for your movie. That's how she broke her arm; she fell out of bed while having a nightmare."

"She didn't tell me that," Megan said. "I called to check on her yesterday." A look crossed Megan's face. "You didn't know it was yesterday..."

"Why does Megan know?" Mindy asked.

Drake glared at Megan.

"Because I have a friend who got Melody's medical records for me," Megan said.

"Megan! When you said you were going to check her out I thought that meant seeing where she works or something. Maybe talking to her friends. I didn't think you were going to totally violate her privacy!" Josh exclaimed.

"I didn't mean for it to go that far!" Megan looked at Drake. "I'm sorry. Okay? I felt really bad after I found out and that's why I didn't tell you. I thought it was something she had to tell you."

"Whatever," Drake said, walking out onto the balcony.

Drake leaned against the ledge and looked out over the city. It was starting to get cool. Drake started to think that maybe Melody would want to drive north in a couple of weeks. They could see the leaves changing colours. Maybe they could pick apples or something. Melody would probably have a better idea of what to do.

"You know, Megan feels really bad," Josh said, stepping out onto the balcony.

Drake shrugged. "I'm not even really mad at her. I'm just kinda... I don't know."

Josh leaned on the ledge next to Drake. "You just have a lot on your mind?"

"I guess it's something like that." Drake looked over the city again. "I barely spend any time here anymore. I spend all my time with Melody."

"Why do you sound so unsure about that?"

"I guess I'm just worried. Everything happened so fast, but slow at the same time. It was like a month before Melody even let me kiss her, but I fell for her instantly." Drake sighed. "It's just that I worry that something will happen and it'll be like it was with Katie. Like, I'll forget how to be my own person."

"Does Melody make you happy?"

Drake looked at Josh. "She really does."

"Well, if you want me to be honest," Josh said seriously, "you never seemed happy when you were with Katie."

Drake wasn't sure why this surprised him, but it did.

"Drake, that girl made you miserable. Remember that Christmas you brought Katie home? It was the first time she let you see us in nearly a year. Then, every time you looked happy, she found some way to upset you. From the little time I spent with Melody, it's clear that she loves you. You should have seen the way her eyes lit up when we talked about you. Then, even more when you walked through the door."

"Really?" A small smile appeared on Drake's face.

Josh nodded. "It wasn't all about you, though. She asked me about my job and about Mindy. She's so nice. I think the fact that she wants to get to know us despite what she's dealing with really speaks volumes about the type of person she is."

"Before she even told me what happened, she was worried that you guys thought she was rude," Drake commented.

"You know, sometimes I forget who I was without Mindy. It just seems like it's been such a long time since I made any sort of decision without consulting her." Josh smiled. "It's not bad, though. I'm still who I was, but I'm more than that because she brings out different things in me that I wouldn't be able to do on my own."

"But with Katie..." Drake started.

"With Katie, you were defining yourself by an image. That's all you two were together √ an image, some story in some magazine. There's a difference. If you're really in love, you'll want to be a better man for her. That's how Mindy makes me feel."

Drake looked at Josh, feeling surprised. He hadn't really noticed before, but during the time that he was busy chasing Katie around, Josh really did become a man. The thought hit Drake hard. He really hadn't changed much since high school. He never wanted to take care of anyone besides himself until he met Melody. There was just something about her that made Drake want to protect her.

"It's scary being a grown-up sometimes," Drake said.

Josh laughed. "Don't worry. You get used to it."

"Melody's here," Megan said, standing by the door.

Drake turned. "I'm sorry I got mad before."

Megan shrugged. "It's fine."

When Drake and Josh stepped back into the living room, Mindy was hugging Melody. "I guess you told them," Melody said to Drake over Mindy's shoulder.

Mindy pulled away. "I'm sorry."

Melody smiled. "No, it's fine. I'm so sorry I bolted earlier. It just caught me off guard. Drake said you guys have a baby, I just didn't think she would be so..." Melody looked down at Emily walking around. "She's so beautiful."

"Thanks," Mindy said.

Melody reached in her bag. "I stopped by a toy store on my way over. I got her something. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

Melody sat on the floor in front of Emily. "Hey, kiddo. Do you want a present?"

Emily looked curious and she walked closer to Melody.

"Here you go," Melody said, pulling out a plush penguin.

Emily's eyes lit up and she reached for the penguin. She looked at it for a moment before hugging it.

"Hey, do I get a hug, too?" Melody asked, opening her arms.

Emily let out a loud giggle when Melody hugged her. Then, she went around the room and held the penguin up for everyone to see.

Drake extended his hand to help Melody off the floor. He saw that she had tears in her eyes. "You didn't have to do that," he said softly once Melody was on her feet.

"I felt bad. She's part of your family, too."

Drake gently kissed Melody. "I love you."

"Dinner's ready!" Josh called out from the kitchen.  
-----

After dinner, Josh got Emily ready for bed. He came out of the bedroom holding the toy penguin.

"Josh, please tell me you did not just steal your daughter's new toy," Mindy said.

Josh tried to look surprised like he just realized he was holding it. "I must have taken it by mistake. Oh well, I don't want to wake her."

"Go give it back!" Mindy said.

"She's sleeping. It's not like she needs it right now," Josh whined.

"Josh..."

"But it's a penguin!" Josh held it out to show Mindy.

"Next time, I'll get you a penguin," Melody said.

"Fine, fine," Josh mumbled, heading back to the bedroom.

"So, Josh, did you make your famous Fudgy Boos?" Drake asked when Josh returned.

Josh smiled. "I sure did! I'll go get them."

"Fudgy Boos?" Melody asked Drake.

"The most delicious brownies you will ever eat," Drake replied.

"Ta Da!" Josh said, returning with the brownies.

"Oh, my dear husband, some things never change," Mindy said as Josh settled on the couch next to her.

"Yes, they do. Now we're old enough to drink," Megan said, getting up and returning with a bottle of wine and glasses.  
-----

"You know, that was a lot of fun," Melody said, holding Drake's hand as they walked back to Melody's apartment.

"Yeah, it was."

"Do you think they liked me?"

Drake chuckled. "They loved you. Besides, I know you won Josh over by asking him to do a magic trick."

"He's so cute. Josh-a-kazam!" Melody said, dramatically waving her hand.

"See, now I'm sure you're drunk," Drake said lightly.

"I'm not drunk. I'm just happy."

"A happy drunk," Drake teased.

They reached the door to Melody's apartment. "You better be nice, or I'll make you go sleep in your own apartment."

Drake smiled and kissed Melody. "I'm always nice."


	19. Chapter 19

"Oh God, Drake," Melody said softly. "That was... wow..."

Drake chuckled as he laid back on the bed. "Yeah, it was."

"Don't go," Melody whispered, kissing Drake's chest.

Drake laughed as he gently rubbed his hand over Melody's back. "Didn't I hear you say that time apart would be good? That it would be nice to have your apartment to yourself again?"

Melody shook her head. "You misunderstood. I said that I'm glad that you've moved yourself into my apartment as long as you keep doing things like you just did."

Drake nodded. "I see. I only serve one purpose in our relationship?"

"At least until this stupid cast comes off. Then, you can teach me more songs to play on my guitar." Melody giggled. "Besides, what's my role in our relationship?"

"Well, today it was to complain about how my suitcase was in your way and then demand sex."

"I only complained because I'm a little anxious about you leaving. You're heading back to the life you were leading before me. What if you realize you don't want a Brooklyn waitress anymore?" Melody rested her head on Drake's chest.

"I admit. I think I'm starting to miss being on the road and performing, but that's only because now I have something to sing about. The next time I go on my own tour, I want you to be there with me. I want to share that part of my life with you."

Melody yawned. "Don't go," she said sleepily.

Drake gently moved out from under Melody and moved a pillow under her head. "I have to. My flight leaves in a couple of hours and I still have to stop by my apartment."

"This was your plan, wasn't it?" Melody asked, closing her eyes. "Wear me out so I fall asleep and you can sneak out."

Drake laughed lightly and kissed Melody's cheek. "No, I wanted to do something so you'd remember me while I'm gone."

Melody smiled without opening her eyes. "Call me when you get there?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I'll miss you," Melody said before drifting to sleep.

Drake got dressed and sat on the bed again. He saw the way Melody's left hand gripped the sheet that was over her. Drake got the blanket and gently laid it over her. He thought it would be easier for both of them if he left while she was sleeping, but now he was finding it hard to tear himself away.  
-----

The trek to the airport was harder than Drake remembered it. At every turn, he thought of another reason for him to turn around and go back to bed.

Finally, he managed to find his seat on the plane. He sat by the window and nervously tapped his hand against his leg. He was only going to be gone for a month. He tried to convince himself that a month wouldn't be so bad. It was just four weeks. It would fly by.

The plane started to move. Drake told himself that it would be fine. He was going to Florida. He loved sunny Florida. Drake pulled out his schedule. He had a week in Florida, a week doing a couple of shows in the Midwest, then two weeks in California where he would do some shows, some TV appearances, and maybe talk to a couple of managers if he had a chance. He decided that he would spend most of the last week visiting his mom and Walter. He hadn't seen them in a long time and he knew they worried about him.  
-----

By time Drake landed in Florida, he was feeling better. He got his bags and narrowly missed the rush of reporters that had been waiting at the airport for him.

When he got comfortable in his hotel room he called Melody.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I'm just calling to tell you I got to my hotel all right," Drake said. "Do you miss me yet?"

Melody laughed. "You know, I had the weirdest feeling when I woke up that the past few months were all a dream. Then, when I got out of bed, I tripped over your sneakers."

"Aww, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Don't worry. I'm fine. It was just a not-so-gentle reminder that a very messy boy lives in my apartment," Melody responded lightly.

Drake laid down on the bed. "About that... What do you think about us moving in together? Officially."

Melody laughed again. "I really love that you are asking me that when you're in a completely different part of the country."

"At least I'm still in the same time zone."

"True. So, what made you think of that?"

"I was thinking about it last week when Mindy and Josh were at my apartment. I'm barely there and I meant to talk to you about it but this week I was so busy making plans for this trip."

"So, would you move into my apartment?" Melody asked.

"I think so. I don't really have any connections to my apartment and we spend all our time at yours."

"But that would mean there would be more of your stuff lying around for me to trip over," Melody whined dramatically before giggling.

"Maybe we should buy a bigger place. Maybe a house." Drake smiled at Melody's silence. "Too soon?"

"Maybe a little. Were you serious about it?" Melody didn't sound scared. She sounded very calm.

"Maybe not for right now, but I think about things like that sometimes. You know, for the future," Drake admitted.

"Is this going to become a pattern? You're going to talk about serious things when we're thousands of miles apart?" Melody joked.

"Yup. I was thinking about proposing while in Australia. I think the time difference will be fun. It'll be like I'm proposing to you from the future."

"Oh, so you're thinking about proposing already?"

"Nope. Not at all." Drake smiled. "So, what about the moving in thing? You never gave me a definite answer. You just whined about my stuff being in your way again."

"I'm sorry. I adore all the items you leave around. While you're gone I'll build a shrine to you using all the t-shirts you left on the floor."

"You make it sound like you're a neat freak. I seem to remember tripping over a pile of penguin pajamas last week."

"Okay, you have a point," Melody said. "You can move in."

There was a knock at the door. "Someone is at the door, probably to tell me that I'm already running late for something."

"Okay. Have fun. I love you."

"Love you, too." Drake hung up the phone and answered the door. "Hey, Tony."

"Hey, we're running late. I thought you were going to meet me in the lobby."

"Sorry. I just had to make a call."

Tony frowned. "Look, I don't think it's a good idea if you mention Melinda to anyone."

"Her name's Melody," Drake said, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"Whatever. If anyone asks you about seeing anyone, be as vague as possible," Tony said.

"I'm not going to mislead people into thinking I'm still with Katie."

"Do you really think it'll be good for your image if people find out that you're seeing someone while Katie is pregnant?"

Drake sighed. "I'll tell them the truth. Katie has done nothing to contact me since she got pregnant"  
-----

Drake felt so... high, exhilarated, amazing. He couldn't find the exact word. The show had been unbelievable. Everything went even better than Drake imagined it would. His arm didn't hurt anymore, which had been his biggest fear going into the show. Everything was perfect.

Drake was signing autographs and taking pictures with a group of girls.

"You look happier than when we saw your last show," a girl commented.

"When was that?"

"January. This show was so much better than that show. Not that it was bad... it's just..."

"You look so much happier," one of the other girls finished.

Drake smiled. "That's because I'm a lot happier than I was at my last show."

"Yeah, is it because of Katie and the baby?" another girl asked.

Drake shook his head. "No, it has nothing to do with Katie. It's because I'm in love with an amazing girl."


	20. Chapter 20

"Katie's here," Tony said.

"What?" Drake looked around nervously, afraid that she had already seen him.

"I called her. I thought it would be good if you two talked."

Drake peeked out into the crowded hallway. He wasn't sure if he should chance making a run for it that way. "You know, Tony, this is exactly why I'm getting a new manager," Drake said, closing the door. "It's the sleazy manager things that you do."

Drake looked out the window. As he hoped, there was a fire escape.

"I thought it would be good for your publicity. Especially since you've felt the need to tell everyone you meet that you're in love," Tony said.

"Yeah, I'm in love with someone who's not Katie. I really don't want pictures everywhere of me and Katie together." Drake opened the window.

"You're going to climb out the window? Don't you think you're being a little extreme?"

Drake shook his head. "I told you I didn't want to see Katie."

Drake climbed out the window. He went down the fire escape and jumped off a couple of rungs from the bottom of the last ladder. He let out a laugh when he landed on the ground, proud of his great escape.

"Wow, that was pretty pathetic," a voice said from behind him.

"Damn," Drake muttered before turning around. He already knew who it was.

"So, you're willing to risk your life to avoid me?" Katie asked.

"I climbed down a fire escape. You're making it sound like I jumped from the fifth floor," Drake said before turning to walk away.

"Don't walk away from me!" Katie said. Her heels clicked angrily against the pavement as she followed Drake.

"I don't want to talk to you, Katie. I'm finally happy. I don't need you messing that up," Drake said.

"Drake, can't you just stop and talk to me for a minute?" Katie asked.

Drake stopped. "What is there to talk about?"

Katie stepped in front of Drake. "Well..." she said, putting her hand on her very pregnant stomach.

"It's not mine."

Katie smiled. "Are you absolutely sure of that?"

"Until a DNA test proves otherwise, that's what I'm going to believe."

Katie stepped closer. "Come on, Drake. Even if it's not yours, we can still be together. No one has to know." Katie brushed her hand against Drake's cheek.

"No." Drake stepped back. "We can't. It's over."

"And what if the kid is yours?" Katie smiled at Drake's shocked expression. She stepped closer to him. "Come on, baby. Can't we just kiss and make up?"

Drake shook his head. "I'm in love and it's not with you. I'm happy now."

"You don't sound too sure of that," Katie said softly. Katie gently kissed Drake's cheek.

"Stop." Drake stepped away again. "If the kid is mine, we'll figure something out. I am sure of one thing, I don't want you in my life anymore."

Katie laughed lightly. "You'll change your mind. You always do," she said before walking away.  
-----

When Drake got home, he went to the kitchen. He looked in the fridge and discovered some chocolate pudding. He pulled it out of the fridge and got a spoon from the drawer. Maybe pudding would comfort him after the encounter with Katie. Drake wasn't sure what bothered him more- what Katie said or the fact that he almost believed her. He did always go back to her. That had been the pattern so far.

Drake reached in his pocket for his cell phone. There was a missed call from Melody. She left a message on his voice mail saying, "Hey, babe. I was just calling to see how your last show went. I guess you're busy so call me when you get a chance. Love ya, bye."

Drake sat at the table with the pudding and called Melody's apartment. "Hello?" Melody answered with a yawn.

Drake glanced at the clock. It was one in the morning. "Damn. I'm sorry. I didn't realize what time it is."

Another yawn. "It's okay. I'm glad you called. I really missed you tonight."

"You did?" Drake felt himself starting to smile.

"Uh-huh. This bed feels so empty and lonely without you. When are you coming home?"

"Friday. I want to spend a couple of days with my parents."

"That's good. You should spend time with them," Melody said with a small note of sadness in her voice. "Can I meet you at the airport? We'll have a romantic moment where we see each other and you drop your bags as I run into your arms?" Melody asked, her voice sounding a little happier.

"There will probably be a lot of reporters at the airport."

"And you don't want to be seen with me?"

"No. It's not that. It's..."

Melody cut him off. "It's okay. It probably wouldn't work out the way it does in movies anyway. You'd drop your bag on your foot. I would trip and go sliding on the floor..."

"Melody..."

Melody sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little stressed out. Gabby and I had a fight today."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I don't even know how it started but it ended with Gabby telling me that maybe it's time I stop working in the coffee shop."

"Did she fire you?" Drake asked.

"No. She just said that I have a lot of potential and I could be doing what I want instead of spending my days in the coffee shop. She loves it there because it's her shop. She said I need to expand my horizons and find something of my own. She said you would probably support me in whatever I do."

"I would."

"Even if I wanted to run away and join the circus?"

"Yup. That would be fun." There was a moment of silence before Drake asked. "Isn't there anything you ever dreamed of doing?"

"I don't know. I got into acting because of Debbie. Everything I've done has just been a way to pay the bills. Did you always want to be a musician?"

"Always. For as long as I can remember," Drake said. "Why don't you make a list of things you like? We can talk about it when I get home and come up with something."

"Okay. I guess I can do that. I love you."

"I love you, too. I'll be home before you know it."

When Drake hung up the phone, he noticed Walter standing in the doorway. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

Walter shook his head. "No, I couldn't sleep," he said, going to the fridge and getting a glass of milk.

"Pudding?" Drake offered, holding out the bowl to Walter when he sat at the table.

"No, thanks," Walter chuckled. "You know, it's a little weird to have you back in the house."

"Sorry."

"No. It's a good type of weird. We haven't seen you much this year. So, was that your new girlfriend on the phone?"

"Yeah..." Drake poked at his pudding a little before looking at Walter again. "Do you think I can bring Melody here for Thanksgiving? I know things were awful that time I tried to bring Katie home for Christmas and you had a right to hate her because of how mean she was to Josh..." Drake started to ramble.

"Wait a minute," Walter said, holding up his hand. "Sure, Katie was mean to everyone and I don't like her because of that, but that's not the main reason. I really don't like her because she made your life miserable."

"Oh," Drake said simply.

"You know, you're my son, too. I love you just as much as I love Josh. Also, just as much as I love Megan. I can't stand to see any of my children get hurt."

Drake put the pudding back in the fridge. He sat at the table and looked at Walter. "I saw Katie today..."

"What happened?"

"She said that even if the baby isn't mine, we could still be together. I tried to tell her that I moved on but she said I would change my mind. I always do." Drake sighed and absently rubbed his jaw. "I really love Melody, but seeing Katie... I'm scared that Katie's right. I mean, that's the pattern, she kicks me out? and I keep crawling back to her. It's pathetic."

"Why don't you tell me about Melody."

A small smile started to form on Drake's face. "She's amazing. She's funny and friendly. A lot of bad things have happened to her and she's...she's not really broken, but she's delicate. I just want to protect her. When she smiles... she's amazing..."

Walter smiled. "Well, judging by the look on your face now, I don't think you have to worry about going back to Katie."

"So, about Thanksgiving. Melody doesn't have any family and I don't think she's really experienced big family holidays. So, I thought it would be a nice to share that with her. Also, I want you and Mom to meet her."

"I'll talk it over with your mom in the morning, but it should be okay. Josh and Megan have already told us that they like Melody."

Drake laughed. "It's weird how different it feels to have a girlfriend that my family actually likes."

"Well, we only want to see you with someone who makes you happy." Walter finished the last of his milk. "You should probably head to bed so you don't sleep all day."

"Okay. Goodnight," Drake said, getting up. He paused in the doorway and looked at Walter. "Thanks... for listening and stuff."

"No problem, son," Walter said. "Goodnight."


	21. Chapter 21

Drake entered Melody's apartment. "Baby, are you home?"

"Drake!" Melody squealed excitedly as she ran to Drake. Before Drake could say another word, Melody kissed him as she pushed him against the door.

"Wow, I guess someone missed me," Drake said when Melody finally broke their kiss.

"Uh-huh. Did you miss me?"

Drake lifted Melody and she wrapped her legs around him. He started to walk toward the bedroom. "I might have missed you a little," he teased.

Melody noticed the direction they were moving in. "I thought we were going to go pack up your apartment."

"I think that can wait. I have something else in mind for now," Drake said with a smile.  
-----

As soon as Drake opened the door to his apartment, he noticed something was wrong. There seemed to be a lot more pink things in his apartment than he remembered.

"Did Josh and Mindy decide to redecorate?" Melody asked.

Drake shook his head. "I stopped by before I left and it was definitely not like this."

Melody picked up a pink pillow from the couch. "Maybe Megan decided to punish you for something?"

Drake shook his head, his stomach sinking as he saw an envelope with his name on it. He knew who did this.

"What's that?" Melody asked, noticing the letter Drake was reading.

"Katie was here."

Melody looked confused. "Why would she be here?"

Drake sat on the couch. "I saw her last week."

"And...you weren't going to tell me?" Melody asked, crossing her arms.

"No, it's not like that. I honestly forgot about it. After it happened I went home and talked to Walter and... I just wasn't thinking about it."

Melody's expression softened a little. "What happened?"

"I had just finished a show and Tony told me that he called Katie. I even climbed down a fire escape to try to avoid her. She said how we should get back together and..." Drake held out the letter.

Melody took it. Her eyes quickly scanned over the letter. When she opened her mouth, her voice was high and valley girlish, "Dear Drake, Did you really think I would believe that you're in love with someone else? I don't know why you bother lying to me. It doesn't look like a girl has ever stepped foot in this apartment. Anyway, you can see I made a few modifications. Your landlord was very helpful. Don't be mad. Just think about it, okay? I know you'll change your mind. Love, Katie."

Melody laughed. "Wow, she even dots her i's with little hearts. How sickening is that?" she asked, her voice back to normal.

"You're not mad?" Drake asked.

Melody shrugged and sat on the couch next to Drake. "I am, but not at you. You came home to me. You didn't do anything with her, right?"

Drake shook his head. "She tried to get close and she kissed my cheek, but I kept stepping away. I wanted to push her away but she's pregnant... and it's bad to assault pregnant women."

Melody held Drake's hand. "Would you tell me? Ben always told me... more as a way to hurt me, but he never hid when he cheated on me."

"I'll never do anything like that. I love you. I admit I was a little shaken by Katie. She made a point, I always change my mind. I was a little scared..." Drake sighed before looking at Melody. "I'm not scared when I'm with you. I love you."

Melody gently touched the scar on Drake's jaw. "You're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. Don't let her hurt you," she said softly. She looked around the apartment. "What are you going to do about all this stuff?"

Drake smiled. "Nothing. I'm moving in with you and I'm going to talk to my landlord. He can do whatever he wants with her stuff"  
-----

"Is that the last box?" Drake asked from the couch as Melody came in.

Melody dropped the box she had been carrying. She fell on the couch next to Drake. "No, honey, I didn't want any help with that heavy box full of _your_ crap. Thanks for the offer, though," Melody said sarcastically.

Drake smiled in amusement. "Snack cake?" he asked, holding out the box.

"I don't know how you can eat so many of those. I eat one and I'm bouncing off the walls from a sugar high."

"I have to. If I don't get the right amount of sugar in my system, I break out in a horrible rash. Trust me, it's not a pretty sight."

"Worse than the chickenpox?" Melody asked, reaching for a snack cake.

"At least ten times worse," Drake said seriously.

Melody looked around. "I don't know where we're going to keep all your stuff."

"We'll work something out. Maybe the oven, that's where I kept my bills and such. Maybe we can fit a couple of shoe boxes in there."

"That won't work. I actually use my oven for all those dinners I make you, remember?"

"Oh, right," Drake said nodding. "Speaking of baking, let's go up north. I want to see the leaves falling and pick apples or something."

"And that relates to baking... how?" Melody looked confused.

"Apple pies!" Drake exclaimed.

Melody laughed. "So, you want to go pick apples and you're going to make pies?"

"Well, no. I thought you would bake pies."

"Why do you assume I know anything about baking apple pies?"

"Well, isn't that something you country girls do? Bake pies?"

"I have to consult my country girl handbook. I think I missed that section," Melody said lightly. "Just because I didn't grow up in the city doesn't mean I grew up on a farm. You do know the leaves don't all fall at once, right?"

"Well, they'll be pretty colours, right?" Drake tossed the empty snack cake box on the coffee table and put his arms around Melody, pulling her close.

"Uh-huh. They will be."

"And... pies are good." Drake kissed Melody's neck.

"Yeah... pies are good," Melody said, closing her eyes.

"So, we can go?" Drake asked softly.

"Yeah, I'll tell Gabby that I need time off and we can go next week."

"Why don't you quit that job?"

"Well, I can't just do nothing. I have to have a job. I have bills to pay," Melody said, pulling away from Drake.

"Yeah, but I'm living here now, so I can pay the bills."

Melody frowned. "I don't want you to pay the bills."

"I've been living here for months without paying. You buy groceries and cook and you don't let me pay for anything. Let me help out. I can afford it."

"I don't want to be one of those girls who don't do anything and live off their boyfriend's money."

"This is different." Drake took Melody's hands. "I don't want you to be one of those girls either, but I want you to find something that you really love. You're not going to find that at the coffee shop. Besides, Gabby wants you to start getting out more. Maybe we'll go away and you'll discover that you really like apples, and then you'll want to work on an apple farm or something. You'll never know unless you try new things."

"An apple farm?" Melody asked, amused.

Drake shrugged. "It sounded good."

Melody smiled and settled against Drake again. "Maybe I can start a rock yoga class for kids. Corrupt young minds with loud music and meditation."

"Why don't you give them candy and then try to get them to focus on yoga? That seems just as conflicting as playing rock music during it," Drake teased.

"No, the candy is for after yoga. That way they have a sugar high when I send them back to their parents." Melody giggled.

Drake looked around the apartment. "You know, we could probably build a fort with all these boxes."

Melody sat up. "Do you want to?" she asked, with a big smile on her face.

Drake kissed her. "I love you."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. If I said that my life has been complete hell lately, that would be an understatement. Hopefully, things are getting better and it won't take me a month to write the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Can I drive?" Melody asked excitedly.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Drake asked, suspicious.

"Yeah. Just because I don't have a car doesn't mean I can't drive." Melody started digging through her purse. She pulled out her license and held it out to Drake. "This says I can drive."

Drake looked at the license and then at his car. "Why do you want to drive?"

Melody rolled her eyes and took back her license. "So I don't have to keep telling you where to go. Besides, it's been so long since I've driven anything. It'll be fun."

Drake held out his keys. "I'm trusting you."

Melody had to pry the keys out of Drake's hand. "Try saying that with a little more conviction," she teased.

Drake got in the car. "Just hurry up before I change my mind."

Melody watched Drake put his seat belt on. "I'm not going to hurt your car."

"It's not the car I'm worried about," Drake said softly.

Melody stared at Drake for a moment before holding out the keys. "You can drive if you want."

Drake blinked. He was confused by the expression on Melody's face. It was a mixture of sadness and rejection. Drake thought back to what he said and realized what she thought he meant. "No, you drive."

Melody shook her head. "I don't want to if it's going to bother you."

Drake pushed her hand that was holding the keys away. "I don't know why I said that. I..." He had felt a little concerned about Melody driving, but when he thought of the car crashing he was worried about her. That's what he was thinking when he made the comment; all he worried about was her. "I'm sorry. You drive."

"Are you sure?" Melody asked, looking unconvinced.

Drake smiled. "I trust you"

--  
"Are we there yet?" Drake whined. He felt stupid for worrying about Melody's driving skills. She was confident behind the wheel and he was enjoying watching the scenery.

"Almost."

"Really?" Drake sat up more and looked out the window.

Melody laughed. "How far did you think we were going to go? It's not like we have to go to Buffalo to be out of the city."

Drake glanced at the clock. They had only been driving for about two hours. "I just thought it would be a longer drive.

"Not if you know where you're going," Melody said lightly as she drove onto the exit ramp. "There's a really nice apple orchard here. I used to come here when I was a kid."

"You grew up around here?" Drake hadn't really thought about where Melody had grown up.

"About an hour away from here, but I hung out here a lot. There's a mall in the next town over. It was the only place to really hang out."

"Small town life was boring?"

"I was a wild child. If I wasn't getting in trouble, I was bored." Melody pulled into what appeared to be a field with other cars parked in it. She noticed Drake looking at her. "What?"

"I'm not sure if I can imagine you getting in trouble," Drake admitted.

"All right. I guess I wasn't that bad. It was mostly sneaking out at night to drink with my friends. Nothing too shocking."

Drake looked around. "This is it?"

"What were you expecting?"

Drake shrugged. "I don't know. We're in a field."

Melody laughed. "Oh, you're spoiled. We don't have fancy things like parking lots and sidewalks out here," Melody teased. "Actually some places do, but this place is usually only busy during the fall, so it's sort of silly to build a parking lot that won't really be used."

They got out of the car and Melody led Drake toward the entrance for the orchard. They got a couple of bags and started walking.

"So... I just pick the apples off the trees?" Drake asked.

"Yes. Why are you so confused? You're the one who wanted to go apple picking!"

"I know, but... I just pick the apples off the trees?"

"Yes! Pick the apples and put them in the bag. Just make sure they don't have a worm or anything in them. Pick good-looking apples." Melody reached into a tree and pulled off an apple. She inspected it before dropping it in her bag.

Drake was still looking around. The ones in the tree next to him were red. "What ones do you make pies out of?"

Melody laughed. "Can't you just eat an apple? Why are you obsessed with pies?" Melody walked over to where Drake was standing. She picked an apple and handed it to him. "Just try it."

Drake shook his head. "Unless it has peanut butter on it, I can't. Besides, I thought you weren't supposed to eat them here."

"No one will know. It's not like they have hidden cameras in the trees. People eat while they're picking apples all the time."

Drake relented and bit into the apple. It was different from any other apple he had eaten. "Wow," he said.

Melody smiled and took Drake's free hand. "Come on. Let's go get you some apple pie apples. The golden ones are good for that"

--  
Melody tossed the remains of her apple into the stream, watching the apple core drift away. "This whole stream is going to be lined with baby apple trees next summer because of us," she said. She turned to look at Drake and noticed he had been watching her. An amused smile formed on her face. "We've been here for a couple of hours and you've spent more time looking at me than anything else. It's really beautiful out here." Melody gestured to the surrounding area.

Drake looked around. It was beautiful. They were sitting on a small wooden dock at the edge of the stream. They couldn't even see the road from where they were.

"Yeah, it is beautiful," Drake said slowly as he looked around. He looked back at Melody. The last bit of sun shining through the trees made her hair shine golden. "But not as beautiful as you."

Melody blushed and looked away, glancing toward the darkening sky. She pointed up. "Look, there's a star. Make a wish," she said.

Drake moved close to Melody. "I don't have to. Everything I want is right here."

Melody leaned against Drake and let him wrap his arm around her. "You always say the nicest things."

"I'm only telling the truth."

"Do you love me?"

"Very much."

Melody pulled away from Drake. "Would it bother you if I started acting seriously? I mean, if that's what I wanted to do with my life?"

Drake was surprised by the question. "Why would that bother me?"

"Well, I don't want you to think I'm trying to use you. It's going to seem like I'm some Brooklyn waitress who gets parts in movies because of her rock star boyfriend."

"I've seen you act. You don't need me to make it big." Drake gently put his hand on Melody's back. "Is this what you really want?"

"I don't know. I'm so torn. It was so much easier before..." Melody sighed. "You know, I didn't even know how badly I wanted a family until I lost her. I mean, I'm not baby crazy or anything. Sometimes, I can't help but think about it. Would I be able to raise a baby and act? Would I even want to try and raise a baby like that?"

For the first time in his life, a feeling of panic didn't seize Drake's chest at the thought of having children. In fact, he felt really calm. "You know, when we have kids they're going to have a famous parent whether you act or not. Besides, you won't be doing it on your own. If you really want to act, I think you should do it."

" 'When'?" Melody asked.

Drake thought about what he said and chuckled. "Yeah. I guess we're definitely having kids."

Melody moved close to Drake again. "I helped Megan edit her film when you were away. It was a lot of fun. Maybe I could learn more about that and do behind-the-scenes stuff."

"Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

"What if I want to become a stripper?" Melody teased.

"Okay, maybe I do need to set limits if you're going to ask questions like that."

Melody laughed. "I don't think I want to be a stripper. Maybe I'll just play one in a movie."

"I'm not going to let you get a new job if you keep talking like that."

"Do you think you could stop me?" Melody challenged.

Drake smiled. "I think so."

"How?"

"Like this." Drake kissed Melody gently, then pulled away after a moment. He felt satisfied that she didn't have a comeback. "See? I win."


	23. Chapter 23

"Mmm, pie..." Drake said, reaching for the pie sitting on the counter.

"Don't touch," Melody said, smacking his hand with a wooden spoon.

Drake held his injured hand. "What was that for?"

"That's not your pie. I'm going to take a couple pies down to Gabby. Maybe she can have an apple pie sale or something to get rid of them all."

"Why are you giving away my pies?"

"_Your_ pies? I haven't seen _you_ baking any pies. In fact, you haven't done anything all week besides _eat_ pies!"

"Well, they're very good pies."

"I would say, 'Screw acting, let's open up a bakery' but we couldn't do that because you would eat all the product." Melody smiled. "You're gonna get fat."

Drake lifted his shirt and looked at his stomach. He poked it and frowned. "You don't think I'm fat, do you?"

Melody rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I forgot how sensitive boys can be."

"You wouldn't like it if I called _you_ fat. Besides, it's your fault. You keep making pies."

"Because _someone_ decided to bring home a million apples and told me to start baking."

"I think you've perfected the recipe. Now you can make one when we go home for Thanksgiving."

Melody looked surprised. " 'When we go home for Thanksgiving'?"

"I didn't tell you about that?"

Melody shook her head.

"That's weird, because I bought the tickets when I came home from the tour."

Melody crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. "Nice to know you're making plans without talking to me first."

"I'm sorry. I really thought I did. Are you mad?"

Melody shrugged. "I guess not. It's just that now I'm have to spend the next couple weeks worrying about it."

"What's there to worry about?"

"Meeting your parents."

Drake laughed. "You won Megan over. She's the only person you should have been afraid of meeting. My parents are gonna love you."

"What about the plane ride?" Melody asked.

"Planes are fun."

"Aren't you scared of heights?"

"I'm fine as long as I don't look down when I'm looking out the window."

Melody looked worried. "Are you sure they'll like me? What if something goes wrong?"

"What could go wrong?"

Melody shrugged. "Stuff."

Drake laughed. "Everything will be perfect. In fact, I was thinking we could stay out there an extra week and do something special for your birthday."

"You don't have to do anything for my birthday."

"I want to. I think you'll really like what I have planned." Drake pulled Melody in for a hug. "Don't worry so much, okay?"

"I'll try not to."

Drake held Melody tight as he looked at the pie sitting on the counter. He moved his hand slightly...

"Drake, if you touch that pie, you're going to be in so much trouble."

--  
"Hey, where have you guys been all week?" Gabby asked as Drake and Melody entered the shop.

"Baking. Well, I baked; Drake ate. Here, we brought you pies!" Melody said, putting a box on the counter.

Gabby looked in the box. "That's a lot of pies."

Drake sat out the counter. "Can I have a slice? I'll pay."

Gabby gave Melody a questioning look.

"I told him he's not allowed any, but if he's offering to pay, I think you should take his money," Melody said.

"You want a percentage of the profits?" Gabby asked.

Melody laughed and shook her head. "No, thanks. You'll be trying to make me a partner or something to get more pies from me. Then I would have to turn you down because you're the one who said I shouldn't work here anymore. I can't ruin our friendship like that."

"Okay, I'll just have to take advantage of our friendship to get pies out of you."

Melody smiled. "Fine. As long as it doesn't ruin our friendship."

"Can I have pie now?" Drake whined.

"In a minute. I have to talk to you." Gabby said.

"Why?"

"Because I saw something interesting today." Gabby dropped a magazine on the counter.

" 'Rock Star Sneaks Away to Spend Time with Pregnant Girlfriend,' " Melody read, looking over Drake's shoulder. "That's weird. That doesn't look like me."

"My favourite caption is for this picture," Gabby said pointing to the bottom of the page. " 'Loving couple shares chaste kiss.' "

Drake stared at the pictures of him with Katie. He pointed to the first picture of him climbing down the fire escape. "These pictures just confirm my story! If they were closer, you would be able to see my angry expression. I was angry!"

Melody put her hand on his back. "Calm down. We believe you."

"You do?" he asked, almost surprised.

Melody sat down next to him and shrugged. "Yeah. It's not like they have pictures of you making out or anything. She's clearly kissing your cheek in that picture."

"What are you going to do about this?" Gabby asked.

Melody shrugged. "I guess we just have to wait it out. It's only two months until she's due."

"You're just going to let her get away with this? Listen to this, 'When asked about the future, the expectant mother had this to say: "We're looking for a quiet place to settle down. We've been too busy planning for the baby to plan anything else, but who knows, maybe wedding bells are in the future for us." ' "

"Lying bitch!" Melody exclaimed. She blushed when she saw the others looking at her. "Sorry."

"It's nice to see you're ready to defend my honour," Drake said.

"Well, you're mine. She's going to have to fight me for you."

"You're cute when you're possessive." Drake leaned in to kiss her.

"Excuse me! Before you two start making out, maybe you could plan some way to deal with this!" Gabby said.

Melody laughed. "You sound angrier about it than I am."

"Well, the pregnant bitch has to go down."

"I don't think we can do anything."

"Yes, we could go to some high profile event together. We'd be seen together and I could tell people the truth," Drake said.

Melody frowned. "Wouldn't there be some fallout from that? Like, 'Rock Star Dumps Pregnant Girlfriend for Poor Waitress.'"

"You're not a waitress anymore," Gabby said.

Melody rolled her eyes. "Fine. 'Rock Star Dumps Pregnant Model Girlfriend for Unemployed Nobody.'"

"It's better than waiting until after the baby is born. 'Rock Star Abandons Girlfriend and Newborn Baby for Mistress He's Been Living with for Months.'"

"Maybe the baby isn't his. We would know for sure by then."

"What if it is? I have to side with Drake on this one."

"What about...ummm... I thought I had another argument." Melody frowned. "Where would we go?"

Gabby flipped a couple pages in the magazine. "This socialite's having a huge party on Friday. Maybe you guys could go there."

"Like we can just walk into any party."

"I can," Drake said, looking at the picture. "She's dating this nerd I went to high school with. Craig, I think."

"Eric," Gabby corrected, checking the article.

Drake shrugged. "My point is, I can give him a call and get us into that party. Though, I was probably invited anyway. I've been turning down invitations all year."

"Man, I wish I was famous enough to turn down invitations to exclusive parties. Can I be your girlfriend?"

"Don't tell me I have to fight you off, too," Melody said.

"Nah. I want a man who doesn't knock up models."

"It might not be mine," Drake said.

"It's definitely yours because you keep hoping it's not."

"It doesn't work like that," Melody said.

"Hey, can I get some coffee over here?" a customer yelled loudly.

"Only if you ask nicely," Gabby said, walking towards the customer.

"Stop gossiping and give me my damn coffee."

Melody turned to Drake. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Why not? I'd rather tell the truth now then let Katie build things up even more. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Katie sees us together and tries to kill me?"

Drake laughed. "I doubt that will happen."

"I wouldn't laugh. Pregnancy hormones are not to be taken lightly."

"Well, I'll be there to protect you. Besides, this seems sort of inevitable. We might as well get it over with."

"I keep forgetting you're famous and these things are going to come up. You seem so normal."

"Opposed to being an alien like other celebrities?"

Melody laughed. "Exactly."

"So, did you convince her to go?" Gabby asked, coming back.

"Yeah," Melody said. "I guess I have to spend my savings on a kick-ass dress."

"Yay! Shopping trip! I can get my sister to run the shop tomorrow. We can go shopping then."

"Okay."

"Great!" Drake said. "Now that that's settled, can I have a piece of pie now?"

"I don't know. You want to look good for the party. Melody, don't you think Drake looks a little chubby?"

"Yeah, he does. Sorry, hon. Looks like you're going to have to spend the week at the gym."

"What? No!" Drake stood up a lifted his shirt. "There is no chub here!"

"A couple of sit-ups wouldn't kill you, kid," a customer said.

Drake lowered his shirt and pouted as Melody rubbed his back. "Aww Gabs, we hurt his feelings. Boys are so delicate."

"You guys would cry if I even hinted you were fat," Drake said.

"Are you going to cry?" Gabby asked, sounding happy.

"Gabby, just give him some pie," Melody said.

"Fine, fine." She put a slice of pie in front of Drake.

"I'm not fat?" Drake asked.

Melody smiled. "You're not fat."

"You're going to be if you keep eating that pie," Gabby said.

"Don't listen to her. She just won't get to go to any fancy, exclusive parties because she doesn't have any famous friends."

"I can go to exclusive parties?"

"Maybe I could have gotten you an invite to the next one, but seeing as you're so mean to me..." Drake said.

Gabby reached over an took the pie away. "Can I go now?"

"Yeah, if everything goes well at this party, we'll bring you with us to the next one."

Gabby replaced the pie. "Deal."


	24. Chapter 24

Drake could hear Melody's heels clicking as she paced the apartment. "Can you calm down? It's going to be fine," he called into the other room as he checked his hair in the mirror.

"Sorry. I just..." Her words died when she saw Drake. "Wow... Umm... what was I saying?"

"I think you were about to gush about what a hot boyfriend you have."

She nodded. "That sounds about right. I didn't know you cleaned up so nice. You should wear a tie more often."

Drake laughed. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it won't last long." He turned away from the mirror. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

--  
"This is surreal. I'm dreaming, right? This is not my life," Melody said, as the limo stopped.

Drake laughed. "You get used to it."

"I don't think so. How do you get used to this? They'll be able to tell I'm nobody. I don't know how to smile and look graceful and nonchalant all at the same time."

"You'll be fine." As soon as Drake stepped out of the limo, he was nearly blinded by flashing lights. He helped Melody out of the car. "Just smile and let me do the talking until we get inside."

"Drake, where's Katie?" "Who are you with tonight?" "Is there any chance of you and Katie working things out?" "What about those pictures that came out last week?" were some of the questions shouted from the crowd.

Drake smiled and gave short, confident answers while they moved towards the door.

"That was... you're so hot right now," Melody whispered when they got inside.

"I'm not hot all the time?"

"You are, but wow! I'm impressed."

They made their way to the bar. "Two beers," Drake ordered.

"Just one. I'll have a Tequila Sunrise," Melody said. She noticed Drake's questioning look. "I'm a girl and we're not at Joey's. I need a fancy drink."

"Hey, Drake!" someone called.

Drake almost didn't recognize him. He had traded his thick-framed glasses for a smaller, wire frame that suited him better.

"Hey..." Drake trailed off, knowing he would probably mix up the names.

"Eric," Melody whispered, still facing the bar.

"Eric," he said confidently.

Eric seemed happy that Drake got his name right. "How are you doing? Someone said you were here with someone else. I thought Katie was pregnant."

Melody turned towards Drake. "Here's your beer, sweetie."

He put his arm around Melody as he made the introductions. "This is Melody. Melody, this is Eric. I went to high school with him."

Eric seemed stunned as he stared at Melody. "Ummm..."

A blonde came over and held on to Eric's arm. "Don't mind him. He still doesn't know how to talk to pretty girls yet," she said good-naturedly.

"Happy Birthday, Bianca. This is Melody."

"Hey, Melody. Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"From who?" Drake asked.

"Your sister. She called to warn me what's going on with you. You do know that Katie's suppose to show up, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course," he replied, not so convincingly.

Melody gestured to Eric. "You don't mind that he breaks every time he sees a girl?"

Bianca laughed. "It's gotten better. He only does it with really pretty girls. He used to run and hide whenever he saw any girl."

"I think I would be jealous if Drake acted like that."

"I would, excepts he still gets like that when he sees me in my bra. Watch this." She took Melody's arm and pulled her out of Eric's line of sight.

Eric blinked as he came out of his daze. "So, how are Josh and Mindy doing?" The girls giggled and Eric looked confused. "What's going on?"

"You did that daze thing again."

Eric looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Where's Craig? He's supposed to tell me when I get like that. Excuse me."

"You know, the only thing that gets me a little jealous is when he's talking to Craig," Bianca admitted. "After the first time we made out, he sort of freaked out. He had to call Craig and they talked for an hour before he would even look at me again."

"Why do you put up with it?" Drake asked.

"Because I love him. I know it seems like we have nothing in common, but he's really sweet. Just wait, after he gets a little more comfortable here, you'll see how much he's changed." Someone called Bianca's name. "Well, my adoring public awaits. Try not to cause too much trouble when you see Katie."  
--

"Drake!"

"What's wrong, Eric?"

"Bianca told me to tell you that Katie's here."

Drake tried to look unnerved by this information. "Thanks. Tell Bianca not to worry. I'm pretty sure Katie won't cause a scene."

"Don't you remember what she did at...?"

"This is different," Drake interrupted. "I promise to leave if I think something's going to happen."

Eric glanced over to where Melody was talking to a couple. "I wish I was that comfortable around people. The first time Bianca dragged me to a party, I got so nervous I spent most of the night puking."

"Yeah, but you did good tonight. That toast you gave was really sweet."

Eric looked proud of himself. "Thanks. Well, I better go find Bianca."

Drake walked over to Melody and kissed her cheek. "You look like you're having fun."

"Yeah, Jake was just telling me great stories about your first tour."

"Oh no, not the mall incident."

Jake laughed. "Come on, buddy, that's a great story. The look of shock on your face when that crowd of girls spotted you."

"I don't know. I think Drake is best when he's in a non-English-speaking country," Jake's girlfriend chimed in.

"One time, Drake comes running over to me complaining about how he can't get a beer. He said, 'I know they have it! I see it behind the bar!' So, I told him the bartender doesn't speak English. Drake replied, 'Dude, how do you say beer in Spanish?'" Jake laughed. "The best part was we were in France!"

"Come on, Mel. I can't let you listen to these lies anymore," Drake said.

"Oh come on, I let you talk to my friends," Melody said.

"This one time, when we were in Germany..." Jake started.

"That's enough or I'm going to tell Jen about the time you..."

Jake raised his hands and smiled. "I surrender. I'll let you leave while your girlfriend still has some respect for you."

"I didn't even get to finish my threat."

"So, what's this Germany story?" Melody asked.

"What are you afraid of Drake telling me?" Jen asked.

"Nothing, I'm just letting Drake think he's in charge. That's what a good drummer does," Jake said.

"You know, the Germany thing happened because I let you drive the tour bus. That's why you're not allowed to be in charge anymore," Drake said.

"Such lies! Honey, don't believe a word he says. I'm great at being in charge."

"Sure you are. Whatever you say," Jen said to Jake. "I better get him out of here; all this alcohol is making him delusional."

Jake shook his head. "My own girlfriend is a liar. Anyway, nice to meet you, Melody. Drake, you better keep this one. She has some great stories."

"Your friends are so nice!" Melody said as they made their way back to the bar. "Tequila Sunrise."

"I'll have a beer," Drake told the bartender. "Are you drunk?"

"Just a tad. Don't worry, this will be my last."

Drake glanced around. It was late enough that they could leave, but he didn't want Katie to think he was scared of her.

"What's wrong? You look worried."

That's when he spotted her. It was almost as if the crowd had parted and she had a clear path towards them.

"Drake..." Melody's words were cut off by a passionate kiss. Of course, part of his brain was telling him that feeling up his girlfriend wasn't the best solution, but that wasn't the part of the brain that was in charge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katie walk away.

"Stop..." Melody pulled away from Drake. "Are you drunk?" she asked quietly.

"No. Why?"

"Because I don't mind a little PDA but I'm not drunk enough to let you grope me in public."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I saw Katie and I thought..."

An annoyed look flitted across Melody's face. She took a long sip of her drink. "We should go."

"Okay," Drake said carefully. He wasn't sure who she was annoyed with.

When they finished the drinks, Drake followed Melody to the exit.

"Drake," a calm voice said from behind him.

Before he could think, he pulled Melody close before spinning around to face Katie. The sudden motion caused Melody to exclaim, "Whoa!" He kept a firm grip on her so she wouldn't fall.

"Hello, Katie. I didn't know you were here." He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Yeah. I didn't know you were with someone."

"You knew I was with someone. This is Melody."

"Aww, isn't that cute? The musician and his melody," Katie said coolly.

Drake knew it was wrong to use his girlfriend as a human shield, but the way Katie was glaring, he was glad someone was standing between them. Of course, Melody didn't have much of a choice because of the way his arms stayed tightly around her waist.

"I stopped by the apartment earlier. I thought you said you would think about it. I was surprised that all your stuff was gone."

"You know I didn't say that. I can't believe you thought I would live there after you redecorated. It looked like a cotton candy machine exploded in there."

"It didn't bother you last year. I don't know why you're suddenly so cold towards me. It wasn't like that when you were impregnating me."

Drake snorted. "You're kidding, right?" He pointed to the scar on his jaw. "I'm pretty sure this is reason enough to hate you."

Katie laughed. "Aww, did poor baby Drake get hurt? What? Are you scared of me now? Were you scared when I gave you that scar?"

Melody tried to shift in Drake's arms. "Babe, we really need to go."

"She's going to leave you, too," Katie said. "It's only a matter of time before she realizes you're a spineless loser."

"Drake, we need to go. Right now."

Drake loosened his grip on Melody. "We're going. Goodnight, Katie."

"Just keep smiling," Melody whispered to him.

Drake had a bad feeling that he was in trouble. As soon as they were safely in the limo, she dropped his hand.

--  
"I'm sorry," Drake said after spending the whole ride in silence.

Melody got out of the limo. "Do you even know what you're apologizing for?"

"Well, you seem upset."

"I am upset."

They finally got into the apartment. Melody went into the kitchen and got a beer.

"Well, are you going to tell me why you're upset?" Drake asked, starting to feel annoyed.

"I feel used," she said quietly before finishing her beer.

"What?"

Melody looked up. "I feel like you used me tonight."

"I didn't use you. How could you say that?"

"You used me to shield you from Katie. What did you think would happen if she got near you? Would you have made out with her at a single glance? Do you really have no self-control?"

"That's ridiculous." Drake grabbed a beer when Melody opened the fridge to get another. "Besides, my favourite part was when you didn't defend me. There was no, 'I would never leave Drake' or 'He isn't a spineless loser'."

"I'm suppose to defend you?"

Drake leaned against the counter with his arms crossed. "It would have been nice."

"I was trying to get you out of there! It's not my fault you couldn't stick up for yourself. I would have said something if it wasn't so public. Hell, I might have knocked her out if you weren't holding me so tight."

Drake stood there in stunned silence, unsure of how to respond to that.

Melody shook her head. "I knew this was a mistake. I'm not cut out for this."

For some reason, that made Drake angry. "Which part? The going to parties and socializing part or being in a relationship part?"

He noticed her start to shake as she drained the last of her beer. She reached for the fridge.

"Is that how you're going to solve this? Drinking more?"

"No. I just... I need to think. I can't think when you're looking at me like that." She slammed the fridge shut. "I used to be able to do things. I used to be able to think and breathe and live all on my own. I used to have a life before you!"

"From what I've heard, you didn't have much of a life," Drake muttered. The hurt expression on Melody's face made him regret the words instantly.

"It was my life," she said in a soft, calm voice before leaving the kitchen.

Drake was annoyed again. He followed her. "What did you expect to happen tonight?"

"I don't know. I can tell you what I didn't expect. One, I didn't expect a confrontation with your ex-girlfriend and possible mother of your child and two, I didn't expect to feel so used. When you kissed me earlier, who were you thinking about?"

"You! I was thinking about you!"

"Really? All I know is that you take one look at _her_ and then kiss me like we haven't seen each other in a year. What am I supposed to think about that?"

"If I wanted to kiss Katie, I would have," Drake said in a tone that surprised him.

Melody looked down and focused on the beer in her hands. She was shaking again. She finally took a long sip. Drake felt helpless. Suddenly his mind flashed back to his first fight with Katie after she moved in. Instead of beer, she drank wine and he could recall the way a bottle sounded as it broke against a wall. This was his first real fight with Melody, and while he knew she was nothing like Katie, the quiet way she was drinking her beer left him feeling unsettled.

Melody looked unsteady as she stood, the alcohol clearly catching up with her. He put his hand out to help but she waved it away.

"Don't touch me." She didn't sound angry; she just sounded sad.

Drake watched her from the bedroom door. She was looking through her drawers. "You know what else I didn't expect?" she said, turning to look at him. "I didn't expect to feel so sad when I saw her. I didn't expect to think of..." She quickly wiped her hand over her eyes, smearing her makeup slightly. "I didn't expect to feel bad for her because what if she's scared about having this baby? What if she's telling the truth about you being the father and you're doing the same thing Ben did to me? The way you held me when you looked at her. What were you trying to prove? I'm not much of a prize."

"Mel..."

"Just go away." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Where exactly do you want me to go?"

"I don't care." She unzipped her dress and it fell to the ground with a soft 'swoosh' noise.

Drake was momentarily distracted as he watched Melody put a t-shirt on.

She sighed angrily as she noticed Drake's blank stare. "Fine. I'll go."

"What?" Drake shook his head. "It's 2AM and you're drunk. Where are you going to go?"

"I'm sober enough to know that you're not my favourite person at the moment."

Drake followed Melody out of the bedroom. "Don't you think you're being a bit ridiculous? I mean, I held you! That's such a crime?"

Melody went to the closet and retrieved a blanket. She stomped over to the couch. "Go to your room," she said, pointing to the bedroom.

Drake couldn't help but laugh. "Am I grounded? You can't tell me to go to my room. This is my apartment, too."

Melody laid down facing the back of the couch and pulled the blanket over her. He stood there for a minute, waiting for her to comment. Finally, with a sigh, he went into the bedroom.

--  
Drake couldn't sleep. He glanced at the clock again. 5:47AM. He sighed and rolled onto his back. The bed felt huge and he was consumed with guilt. He couldn't shake the comparison to Ben from his mind. It killed him to think he reminded her of Ben, even if it was for a moment. Then, there was that panic-fueled kissed and the way he used her as a shield. What was he so afraid of?

He couldn't think about it anymore. It was getting hard for him to breathe. He quietly walked out to the living room. He reached for the blanket that had fallen on the floor but stopped before laying it back over her. She looked so calm and peaceful and he felt awful that she was sleeping on the couch instead of with him.

She stirred when he picked her up. "Am I flying?" She asked sleepily as she held on to him.

Drake chuckled. "Not quite."

Melody's eyes blinked open. "What are you doing? I was sleeping."

"I couldn't sleep." He placed her gently on the bed.

Melody rubbed her eyes as Drake crawled into bed next to her. "You shouldn't have problems sleeping, you got the bed."

He grabbed her arm as she went to move off the bed. "Don't go."

She sighed. "Don't do this. We'll talk later. I just really need some sleep right now."

Drake could feel how tense she was. He knew he should let her go. She was so close and he couldn't stand that she wasn't looking at him. It was all his fault. He did try to use her to get back at Katie. Why would he use the girl he loves to hurt someone who means nothing to him anymore? He couldn't believe he could be that petty.

"Please..." Drake begged, surprised by how vulnerable he sounded.

Melody turned to look at him.

"Please. I know I was an asshole. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened..." The words were flowing out, leaving him surprised by how emotional he felt. He took a deep breath. "Please, stay. Just stay with me."

Melody nodded and Drake let go of her arm. She absently rubbed her other hand on the spot on her arm that he had been holding.

"Did I hurt you?" He felt panic building inside him, unable to believe how stupid he was.

"No..." There was a hesitation in her voice that scared him.

"I'm not like him," he blurted out quickly.

Melody rested her hand on Drake's chest. He was faintly aware of how hard his heart was pounding. "I know. He never asked me to stay..." She kissed his cheek softly. "Lay down and try to relax. Your heart feels like it's about to explode."

Drake nodded and laid down. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he released it when she laid down next to him.

"You really haven't slept yet?" Melody asked after she glanced at the clock.

"I couldn't."

"I was only in the living room..."

"It was too far away..." He held her close to him. "Are you still mad at me?"

"We'll talk about it later. When you're not so delirious from the lack of sleep," she said softly. "Are you okay? Your heart is still pounding."

Drake put his hand under Melody's shirt and started to gently rub her stomach, as if she was the one who needed to be soothed. "I guess one thought led to another and I just sort of freaked out." Drake kissed her neck. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's okay. I'm not sure if it was really romantic of you or really psychotic of you."

Drake chuckled. "It was romantic of me."


	25. Chapter 25

"Are you sure we packed everything?" Melody asked anxiously. When Drake looked at her, he noticed she was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

He smiled. "You checked and re-checked the bags all night. It's fine. Besides, it's too late now, the bags are probably on the plane already."

This didn't seem to calm Melody down. "What if they put the bags on the wrong plane?"

"Then, we'll by new clothes when we get out there. It's just stuff. It's all replaceable."

"What if...?"

Drake pulled Melody into the seat next to him. "It's fine. Everything will be fine."

Melody quickly jumped to her feet. "How can you say that? Everything is not fine. It's the opposite of fine!"

Drake sighed and rubbed his jaw. "Honey, please calm down a little. Are you worried about meeting my parents?"

"No... not really... yes..."

"Is that why you're freaking out?"

"I don't know." Melody started pacing. "I've never been out of the state before! I mean, my friends have dragged me to Jersey a couple of times to go to shows but that doesn't count. It's still the east coast. I've never been out there!" She gestured wildly towards the window. "We have to _fly_ out there! It's not a quick train trip away or anything!"

"I told you we could drive if you were that freaked out about flying!"

"But that would have meant days in the car..." Melody sat down and put her head between her knees. "I'm going to be sick. I can't do this."

Drake felt helpless. He tried rubbing her back, unsure of how to comfort her. "You'll be fine. It's just a plane ride. It's no big deal."

"I won't be! It's a plane!" she shrieked.

"Having problems?" Mindy approached with Josh and Emily.

"Thank God you guys are here!" Drake jumped up. "Melody's kinda freaking out over this plane ride."

"Can't your parents just come out here? We're all on _this_ coast!" Melody whined.

Josh tried not to laugh. "Come on, Mel. This plane ride will be nothing. Emily's never been on a plane before and she's fine."

Melody looked up. "That's because she's a baby. She doesn't know any better."

Mindy gently took Melody's arm and helped her up. "We're going for a walk. You guys look after Emily."

"So, how are things going with Melody?" Josh asked when the girls were out of earshot.

"I think we're okay. Though, things are still tense if anyone mentions Katie." Drake sighed. "I don't know what to do. I thought this baby issue wouldn't change our relationship, but it's going to. If that kid's mine..."

"Well, I think you should just try to enjoy the holiday. Hopefully Katie won't have the baby this week."

"She's not due for another three weeks."

Josh chuckled. "You do realize that's not a precise schedule, right?"

"That's just... wrong. How am I supposed to enjoy anything if I have to worry about her popping out this kid at any moment?"

"You just need to not think about it. There's really nothing you can do to stop it. It's going to happen sooner or later. You can deal with it when it happens."

"I guess..." Drake leaned back in his seat and watched Emily play with her stuffed penguin. "How did you know it was the right time when you proposed to Mindy?"

Josh laughed. "I didn't."

Drake looked at Josh. "You didn't?"

Josh shook his head. "I had no doubt that I wanted to marry her. The problem was finding the right time. I wanted it to be romantic, like the perfect moment. Then, one night we were fighting... I was stressed because one of my students had an accident during lab and Mindy was stressed over her first big case. Dinner got burned and Mindy was crying. We just kept snapping at each other and finally I yelled that I want to marry her." He laughed again. "If I could love her when she's yelling at me over nothing and she still looks beautiful while she's crying about burned grilled cheese sandwiches, then she must be the one."

"You yelled it and she still married you?"

"I'm just lucky, I guess. We just stared at each other and I finally asked her again, a lot softer that time. I had been carrying the ring in my pocket for a week. I got on one knee, showed her the ring and she said yes."

Drake shook his head. "That has to be the craziest proposal I've ever heard of."

"That's life, though. You just have to make the best of the hard times. It made me realize how much I need her." Josh shrugged. "I guess it was the right time. When you feel that kind of love, that moment when you know you could never live without her, that's the right time. Just because it wasn't that traditional romantic moment doesn't make it any less perfect." He smiled. "Besides, those traditional proposal stories are boring."

"Hey, why do you look so happy?" Mindy asked.

"I was just thinking about when I proposed."

"I had tomato soup in my hair and you told me I was perfect."

"You are." Josh said, pulling Mindy into the seat next to him. "Even if you did manage to make the soup explode."

Melody sat down next to Drake. "I'm sorry I freaked out."

"It's okay." He held her hand. "I'm sorry you're so stressed about this trip. You know it'll be okay, right?"

"I hope so."

"So, how did Mindy get you to calm down?"

"She gave me some Valium."

"What?" He turned to Mindy. "You're drugging my girlfriend?"

Mindy laughed. "How do you think I get Josh on planes? Though, after hearing that helicopter story, it makes a lot more sense. I just thought he was a being a baby before."

"I wasn't being a baby! I have every reason to..."

Drake put his hand up. "Dude, Melody just calmed down. I don't think talking about _that_ is the best choice of topic."

--  
"She fell asleep kinda fast," Mindy said about a half hour into the flight.

Drake glanced at Melody. "She was up all night." He looked at Mindy. "Thanks for calming her down. I had no idea what to do."

"No problem. Josh freaked out the same way the first time we flew somewhere." She paused for a moment. "Though, you could do me a favour."

"What is it?"

"Do you think you can watch Emily for a little bit?"

Drake was confused. "Why? Where are you going?"

"Just for a walk," Mindy said nonchalantly.

"We're on a plane. Where are you going to...? Wait. Where's Josh?" He realized what was going on. "Ewww."

Mindy laughed. "You're just jealous that we thought of it first. Too bad Melody's sound asleep."

"It's your fault. You drugged her!" Drake whined.

"Don't be a cry baby. Just watch your niece. She's getting kinda tired so she might take a nap." Mindy handed Emily to Drake.

Emily yawned as Mindy walked away. "You tired, kiddo?" Drake asked. He reclined his seat and let Emily lay on his chest. He placed a blanket over her and she was fast asleep.

Drake closed his eyes and put his arm around Emily. He didn't think it would be too bad to be a father. He just hoped that when it finally happened, it would be with Melody.

--  
"They look happy," Melody commented on the way to the baggage claim.

"That's because they got lucky on the plane," Drake said.

"Drake's just jealous because he didn't," Josh said.

"I'm sorry. Maybe next time," Melody said lightly.

"It's not that. It's just weird thinking about them... you know. Ewww." Drake shudder. "Not that I'm turning down that offer, though."

"We have a kid. How do you think that happened?" Josh asked.

"As far as I'm concerned, a stork brought her to your doorstep." Drake spotted Melody's bag. "See? I told you everything would be fine."

"Yeah, yeah. I have my bags. This isn't the hard part. Now I have to meet your parents."

"It'll be fine. I'm sure they'll love you."

"Though, just to be safe, you can carry Emily into the house. Audrey can't attack you if you're holding her only grandchild," Mindy said.

--  
"Are you ready?" Drake asked softly.

Melody had Emily sitting on her hip. "Yeah. I think so. She can't hate me. I'm kind to babies."

"You'll be fine," Josh assured her before opening the door. "Mom? Dad? Anyone home?"

"Hey!" Audrey excitedly came down the stairs. "How was your flight?" She hugged Josh, Mindy and Drake before pausing in front of Melody.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Melody shifted Emily so she could extend her hand to Audrey. "Nice to meet you, Mrs..."

"You can call me Audrey," she said, shaking Melody's hand. "I've heard so much about you. So, can I say hello to my granddaughter or do you want to hold onto her a little longer to make sure I don't bite your head off?" she asked good-naturedly.

Melody laughed and handed over Emily. "As long as your first impression of me is 'polite and nice to children,' you can have her."

"I don't think you have to worry. So far you're a lot better than the last girl Drake brought home. When I first met her, she thought I was the maid. Though, let's not talk about her. Come in. Make yourselves at home. I'll make some sandwiches for lunch if you guys want to take your bags upstairs."

"Hello, bed," Josh said, dropping his bags on the floor and falling onto the bed.

"This room is pretty cool," Melody said. "It's nearly half the size of my apartment."

"_Our_ apartment isn't that small," Drake said.

Melody climbed the ladder to Drake's bed. "I feel like we should stay up all night and play 'truth or dare' or 'spin the bottle' or something," she said with a laugh.

"Sure, it'll be like when we were teenagers except with a crying baby," Mindy said. "Besides, we can't play 'spin the bottle,' I don't want to risk kissing Drake. Gross."

"Like I'd want to kiss you." Drake paused as a thought occurred to him. "Wait. You'd play and risk kissing Melody but not me? You could have just said you don't want to kiss anyone except Josh."

Mindy shook her head and walked out of the room.

"Dude, your wife would rather kiss my girlfriend than me!"

Josh shrugged as he headed for the door. "I can't blame her. I'd rather kiss Melody than kiss you."

Drake turned to Melody. "They'd rather kiss you than me!"

Melody hopped off the bed. "That's fine with me. I don't want anyone else kissing you. You're mine."

Drake wanted to say something like, 'I thought I was a free person who didn't belong to anyone,' but the feel of Melody's lips stopped him. It didn't matter anyway. He was completely hers.

--  
"Honey, I'm home with Megan and Grammy!" Walter exclaimed as he dropped all the bags he was carrying.

Audrey came rushing out of the kitchen. "Great! I need to use your car to go shopping," she said while hugging Megan.

"What's wrong with your car?"

"Yours is bigger. I want to get the food shopping done tonight so I don't have to go out tomorrow." Audrey hugged Grammy. "How was your flight?"

"Good. So, I heard that Drake decided to grace us with his presence this year."

"Speaking of which, how is she?" Walter lowered his voice slightly. "She isn't a b-i-t-c-h, is she?"

"Walter, I think we know how to spell," Drake said. He and Melody had been standing in the kitchen doorway, unnoticed.

Melody smiled and waved. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Nichols."

Walter looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. Drake's told us so much about you."

"But he didn't mention that I'm not a b-i-t-c-h?" Melody asked jokingly.

"Drake, aren't you going to introduce me? All I've heard about your girlfriend is what Megan and Josh tell me because they actually call their dear old Grammy."

"Grammy, this is Melody. Melody, this is Grammy," Drake said.

"She's prettier than the last girl you brought home."

"Well, I hate to run but we have to get to the store before it gets too late," Audrey said. "Drake, why don't you help Grammy and Megan with their bags?"

"What? I thought I was going shopping with you guys."

"I want to spend some time with Melody. She'll be fine." Audrey opened the door.

"Besides, you know how you get distracted by the candy aisle when you go into the store. It'll be quicker if you stay here," Melody said.

"But I don't wanna..." Drake realized he lost when the door closed.

"You heard Mom," Megan said, pointing to her suitcase.

Walter tried not to laugh and Drake sighed as he picked up Megan's suitcase and then Grammy's.

"Where's the baby?" Grammy asked.

"They took her to see Mindy's parents." Drake struggled to carry the suitcases upstairs.

"Well, seeing as everyone's out, you can unpack our suitcases for us."

"Why do _I _have to? Can't you unpack them yourselves?"

"Well, you can tell me about your new girlfriend while you unpack my case and you're unpacking Megan's case as punishment for never calling."


	26. Chapter 26

"What's wrong? You look lost," Grammy said.

"I'm fine," Drake said.

"You know, she's only in the kitchen."

"Who? Melody? It's fine. I'm okay here."

Grammy laughed. "I'm glad you found her. I know you probably don't want to think about it, but she's a big improvement from that last girl." She got up. "I'm going to try and wake your lazy siblings up."

Drake would have been asleep too if it wasn't for Melody waking up excited like a kid on Christmas morning. He glanced at the kitchen door. He knew Melody was just on the other side but it suddenly felt so far away. He decided to check on her.

"How was he going to make money from a swimming pool full of lobsters?" Melody asked Audrey while giggling.

"I don't know. He never fully explained that one," Audrey said.

"Are you guys talking about me?" Drake asked.

"Of course. I have to warn Melody about some things."

"Now I know to question you if I see you with a lobster," Melody said, kissing Drake's cheek.

"You look happy." He had to smile because of the way Melody's eyes were sparkling. She looked like she was ready to burst with excitement.

"She is. She's been so eager to help out that I might let her do all the cooking today," Audrey said with a smile. "Mel, why don't you set up the table in the other room and tell everyone that breakfast is ready?"

"Sure!" Melody practically skipped out of the kitchen.

Audrey laughed. "She's certainly full of energy this morning. I don't think she realizes Thanksgiving cooking is a marathon, not a sprint."

"I'm sure her energy will last all day." Drake sat down. "So, you like her?"

"Yeah, she's great."

"So..." Drake looked down at his hands. "So, if I was to ask her to... like... marry me... would you be all right with that?"

Audrey paused what she was doing and stared at Drake.

"I mean... I just wanted to know what you think." He was nervous by his mom's lack of response. "She doesn't really have family and isn't it a rule or something that you have to ask her parents' permission? Not that I'm asking permission... I just want to know what you think."

Audrey sat down. "Are you sure? I think she's great and everything but isn't it a little too soon?"

"We've been going out for almost six months."

"Yeah but..."

"Isn't that how long you and Walter went out before you got engaged?"

Audrey laughed. "You have a point."

"I know you worry about me, but I'm sure about this. Even Megan loves her. Besides, I was with Katie for almost 5 years, so waiting won't make things more certain."

Audrey looked thoughtful when Melody came bursting back into the kitchen. "Everyone's up. They'll be less grumpy when they get pancakes," she said as she grabbed two plates of pancakes. She put the smaller plate down in front of Drake. "I put extra chocolate chips in these for you."

"Thanks." Drake smiled. "I'll be out in a minute."

Audrey watched Melody leave before turning to Drake. "You can marry her if you want," she said with a smile.

"Really?" Drake was surprised, he thought it would take longer to convince his mom.

Audrey nodded. "The fact that you're asking my opinion means a lot. The fact that you're talking about it at all shows me that you're really serious. I haven't seen you this happy in a long time."

Drake jumped up and hugged his mom. "Thank you." He grabbed his plate of pancakes and went to join the rest of the family.

--  
"Wow! Mom, this looks wonderful!" Josh exclaimed when he saw the table full of food.

"Actually, I think we have to give Melody credit this year. She really did most of it."

Melody was putting the last of the food on the table. "I didn't do that much."

Audrey laughed. "Okay, I'll take credit if you don't want to."

"Yup, you did everything. I'm just here to blame if something isn't right."

"Don't be so modest. I know you made the apple pies," Drake said.

"Man, I wanted to take credit for those, too," Audrey joked.

Everyone settled around the table. "I think we should go around the table and say what we're thankful for this year. Josh, do you want to start?" Walter said.

"I'm thankful that none of my students have blown up the lab so far this year. Also, for my family, my wife and my beautiful daughter," Josh said.

"I'm thankful for... everything. I have everything I could ever want," Mindy said.

Emily was in her high chair trying to reach the bowl of sweet potatoes.

"I think Emily's thankful for food," Megan said. She smiled. "I'm thankful that people are taking an interest in my film and that it's going to be shown at festivals soon."

"I'm thankful to be alive long enough to be a great grandmother. I'm thankful to be able to see how all of you have grown and succeed at things," Grammy said.

"I'm thankful for..." Drake thought of what he could say. He didn't want to get overly mushy at the table in front of everyone. He had so much to be thankful for this year. He held Melody's hand. "I'm thankful for new beginnings."

"I'm thankful for... all of this. I haven't had a holiday like this since I was about ten and even then... Well, I'm thankful that you welcomed me into your home and let me share this holiday with you," Melody said, her voice only wavering the tiniest bit.

Audrey patted Melody's arm. "I'm thankful that everyone made it this year." She glanced at Drake and smiled.

"I'm thankful for my family. I'm so proud of all of you," Walter said.

Emily successfully hit the spoon in the sweet potatoes and sent bits flying up. She let out a delighted squeal.

"I think Emily's telling us it's time to eat," Walter said.

--  
There was a happy calm in the air as everyone lounged about the living room after dinner.

"I can't believe I ate that much," Mindy said, resting her head on Josh's shoulder.

"You? Did you see how much _I_ ate?" Drake asked.

"No, I prefer not to watch the horrific display of you eating."

"Well, let's just say it was a lot."

"I think Grammy has everyone beat," Megan pointed to the kitchen where Grammy was getting another piece of pie.

"How is she still eating?" Audrey asked.

"I've had a lot of Thanksgivings of practice," Grammy said.

Melody sat on the floor in front of the chair Drake was sitting in and leaned against his leg. "I might sleep until my birthday. Maybe even through my birthday."

"I think Emily might sleep that long, too. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow," Josh said.

The doorbell rang and everyone looked confused. "Who could that be?" Audrey asked.

The doorbell rang again. "Someone should get that," Drake said.

The doorbell started ringing insistently. "Not it!" Everyone except Walter exclaimed in unison.

"Fine... I'll get it," Walter said as he struggled to get off the couch.

They couldn't see who was at the door. They just heard a voice ask, "Can I talk to Drake?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Walter said. He stepped outside and closed the door to talk to whoever it was.

"Crazed fan stalking Drake?" Megan asked when Walter came back in.

"Not quite." Walter looked at Drake seriously. "She refuses to leave until you talk to her."

He almost asked 'who?' but he knew by the cold, tight feeling in his chest who it was. Melody looked up at him, her eyes practically pleading him not to go. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I'll be right back."

"What do you want?" Drake snapped when he closed the door. "What are you doing here?"

Katie looked surprised by his tone. "I need to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you." He turned to go back inside but stopped when he noticed her eyes were red. She had been crying.

"I thought I was having the baby tonight. It turned out to be Braxton Hicks contractions." She paused when she noticed Drake's confused look. "They're like fake contractions."

"So, you didn't have the baby?"

Katie gestured to her still pregnant stomach. "Anyway, I was in the ER and I was sure I was having the baby and I realized, I can't do this. I can't do this alone."

"It isn't my fault you're alone."

"Don't you want to be there when your first child is born?" Katie reached for Drake's arm but he quickly stepped back. "I need you."

"_Maybe_, just maybe if I knew the kid was mine, I would want to be there. _You're_ the one who refused to get a paternity test before now. I'm not going to hold your hand because there's a _slim_ chance it might be mine. It's not my job to hold your hand through this! You got yourself in this mess." Drake went inside without looking back. Sure, he felt lower than dirt for yelling at a pregnant woman who was alone on Thanksgiving, but he had to remind himself that he had so much going for him now that she was out of his life.

--  
"Katie wants me to be there when she gives birth," Drake whispered. He waited until Josh and Mindy were asleep before telling Melody. He figured she would be less likely to yell if everyone was sleeping.

Melody tensed. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her it's not my job to hold her hand through this."

"What if it _is _yours?"

He shrugged. "If I knew for sure, I would want to be there. I just can't stand that she decided to play games with this."

"Are you going to risk not going and it still being yours?"

"Are you telling me I should be there?"

Melody sighed. "No, not at all. If it was up to me, I would suggest we move to Australia just so we can be as far away from her as possible. I just want you to think about it. I don't want you to regret anything and I don't want you to resent me if you miss your baby's birth."

"I don't want to think about it. I guess I'll decide if she calls me when it happens." Drake noticed that the closer it got to Katie's due date, the less they mentioned that the baby might not be his. Everything they said was weighed down by the seeming inevitability that the baby was his.

Melody rolled over so she was facing Drake. It was dark and he could just barely make out the sad expression on her face. "Don't break my heart," she whispered.

He felt his throat closing at the very idea of breaking her heart. "Never."

"Promise?"

He kissed her gently. "I promise."


	27. Chapter 27

"Happy birthday, Melody! Time to wake up!" Drake declared cheerfully.

"Huh?" Melody yawned and slowly opened her eyes.

"It's your birthday! Get up, I have a lot planned for today!"

"Really? Like what?"

"It's a surprise! Get dressed. Breakfast will be ready when you come downstairs."

"You're cooking?" Melody asked as she finally got out of bed.

"Well, I'm making toast. I asked my mom to make the rest." Drake went through Melody's suitcase and handed her an outfit. "Now get ready."

Melody laughed. "Okay. Okay. I'm getting ready."

--  
"So, where are we going?" Melody asked when they got in the car a half hour later.

"It's a surprise," Drake said, barely able to contain his excitement. "You're going to love me so much today."

"I already love you."

"Yeah, but you're going to love me so much more than you do now!"

Melody spent most of the ride looking out the window. "No way!" she exclaimed when Drake parked the car.

He had to laugh at how wide her eyes got. "Yup. This is it."

"Seriously? We're going to SeaWorld?" Melody excitedly jumped out of the car.

Drake held Melody's hand. "Yes, and it gets better."

"What's better than this?"

"Well... you'll see."

It only took them a few minutes to get to their destination.

"Penguins!" Melody exclaimed.

Drake laughed. "I thought you would like this. Remember our second date?"

"Of course!" Melody smiled. "I can't believe you love a penguin-obsessed freak like me."

Drake kissed her. "Of course I love you. Now come on, I planned a tour so you can see the penguins up close."

Melody squealed excitedly. "You're the best boyfriend ever!"  
--

"So, how's your birthday going so far?" Audrey asked when they came in.

"Amazing!" Melody exclaimed. "We went to SeaWorld and we saw penguins and whales and dolphins! Check out these pictures!" She handed the camera to Audrey.

She laughed at Melody's childlike excitement. "Wow. It sounds like you've had quite a day."

"And it's not over yet," Drake said. "Why don't you go upstairs and change? We have to leave for dinner in a little bit."

"What should I wear? Is it some place fancy?" Melody asked.

"It's fancy, but don't worry. I packed something nice for you to wear. I left it on the bed."

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?" Melody said before running upstairs.

Drake sat down on the couch and took a deep breath.

"Nervous?" Audrey asked with a small smile.

"That's an understatement. I just want everything to be perfect."

"She looks really happy. I'm sure whatever you do will be perfect to her tonight."

"She keeps thanking me. I mean, it's not like we're flying to Paris for something really extraordinary." Drake chuckled. "I probably could have given her a pack of gum and she still would have said this was the best birthday ever." He glanced at his watch. "Well, I should get ready. It's almost time."  
--

"Look how fancy this place is! You really didn't have to do this," Melody said, looking around the restaurant.

"Of course I did," Drake said.

"I can't believe today. It's just been... perfect. Thank you."

"I'm just happy that you're happy." Drake glanced at the dance floor. He stood up and extended his hand. "May I have this dance?"

"You're such a gentleman." Melody took Drake's hand. They headed to the dance floor and Melody put her arms around Drake. "I feel like a princess or something."

"So, would that make me Prince Charming? Your knight in shining armor?"

"I believe so."

If a moment could ever be described as 'perfect', this was the moment. Everything else seemed to fade away and it was just the two of them. Drake knew this was it; now he just had to say the words. "I love you."

Melody smiled. "I love you, too."

"Melody...will you...?" His words were interrupted by something vibrating.

"Either someone's trying to call you, or you're _really_ excited about something," Melody joked.

"I'm sorry. I thought I put it on silent. I'll just ignore it."

The slow song that was playing ended and was followed by a more up-tempo one. The moment was suddenly broken. "It's okay. It could be important."

They headed back to the table and Drake checked his voicemail. "Drake, it's time. Like, seriously time. I need you."

"Talk about ruining a moment," Drake muttered as he hung up the phone. The phone started vibrating again. "Hello?"

"Drake! Are you coming?" Katie's frantic voice asked.

"I'm in the middle of dinner. Are you sure it's real this time?"

"Well, they're wheeling me into a room because my water broke, so yeah, I think it's real this time." Katie let out a shriek and Drake guessed it was because of a contraction. "Just get here! Now!" she yelled before hanging up the phone.

"Let me guess. Katie's having the baby now?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not going." Drake put his phone back in his pocket. "Let's not let this ruin evening."

"We can go. It's kinda important."

"_This_ is important. I want..." Drake sighed. He knew this was a losing battle. He was going to feel guilty no matter what he did. "I can drop you off at the house before I go."

"I'll go with you. You shouldn't have to deal with this on your own."

--  
They could hear Katie's screams when they got to the maternity wing. "You sure you don't want to go home?" Drake asked.

"Not if you're staying. Unless you want me to go."

Drake just gripped Melody's hand tightly as a response. Now that they entered the room to face a screaming Katie, it was hard to deny what was happening. It was quite possible that by the end of the night he would be a father.

"It took you long enough!" Katie screamed when she saw Drake. "What is _she_ doing here? I want her out of here!"

"If she goes, I go," Drake said. "We had to cancel our plans to be here."

"I'm so sorry the birth of _your _child is such an inconvenience!" Katie groaned with another contraction.

"Don't hold your breath, just breathe through it," Melody said.

"What do you know?" Katie snapped.

"I know this can be a scary process." Melody let go of Drake's hand and approached the bed. She picked up a wash cloth and started dabbing Katie's forehead.

Katie swatted her hand away. "Just go away."

"Look, I don't know if you're just using this to get to Drake or if you're really scared, but I'm willing to help you through this." Melody turned to Drake. "Do you think you can find some ice chips?"

Katie seemed calmer when Drake returned. Though, Drake figured that had more to do with the epidural she just received than her accepting Melody's presence.

--  
"The baby's crowning!" the doctor said.

"Okay, you're almost there," Melody said encouragingly.

Drake was feeling nauseous. He had made the mistake of looking _down there_ and now he was standing behind Melody, who was holding Katie's hand.

"It's like something out of an alien movie," Drake whispered to Melody.

"Drake, we're kinda busy here," Melody said.

"But _seriously_, it's like really... gross."

"That's mature."

"Okay. Just one more push..." the doctor said.

Drake watched in amazement when the doctor held up the baby and announced, "It's a boy!"

"Oh my God," Katie said, resting her head back against the pillows.

"That's a baby!" Drake exclaimed, not meaning to say it out loud.

"What did you think was coming out?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, but it's a baby!"

"Would you like to cut the cord, Mr. Parker?" the doctor asked.

--  
Soon, Katie was holding the baby and Drake was still in disbelief. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked.

He reached out for the baby but stopped. "I'd rather wait until..." He sort of felt like a jerk for bringing it up. He just didn't want to get attached to the baby if it wasn't his.

Katie frowned. "Until you know he's a Parker?"

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever. I just thought..." Katie glanced at the door. Melody had stepped out into the hallway when the baby was getting cleaned up. "I'm not going to be happy for the two of you."

"I never asked you to be."

"Fine. Go ask the doctor for the stupid test."  
--

Drake didn't really want a science lecture, but the doctor insisted on explaining the test while he swabbed the inside of Drake's cheek.

"How long is this going to take?" Drake asked, trying not to sound too impatient.

"It usually takes three to four days to get the results, but we'll put a rush on this. We can tell you the results tomorrow afternoon," the doctor said.

"There's no way to find out sooner?"

"We could compare your blood type to the baby's and the mother's. We can't really determine if you are the father that way, but there's a small chance it can prove you're not."

"Will that take long?"

"Do you know your blood type?"

Drake shook his head. He didn't even know there were different types of blood.

"I'll need to draw some blood. Then it'll take maybe an hour or so. Do you want me to call you with the results?"

"No, I'm going to stick around here."

"Alright, I'll come find you after the test and let you know if we need to do the full genetics test."

--  
After Drake escaped the lab, he tried to look for Melody. He checked the various waiting rooms on that floor and near the vending machines. He even peeked into Katie's room to see if Melody went back there.

He frowned and took out his cell phone. There were no messages and Melody didn't pick up when he called her. He decided to check outside. Maybe she decided to go home. He wouldn't blame her for wanting to get out of there.

As soon as the elevator opened on the first floor, Drake was blinded by flashing lights. There was also a flood of questions being screamed at him. He quickly hit the 'close door' button.

He could still hear the reporters yelling questions through the closed doors and he had to laugh. He definitely wasn't expecting _that_. Though, he didn't know why he didn't think of the paparazzi sooner and faintly wondered how much a photo of Katie giving birth would have been.

He collected himself and hit the button to open the doors. Again, he was greeted by flashing lights and questions.

"All right! All right! I'll answer some questions if you stop yelling at me!" Drake said with a smile. "Have you been greeting everyone who gets off the elevator like that?"

"Pretty much," someone said.

"Well, Katie had a little boy about an hour ago. They're both doing well. Anything else you want to know?"

"Are you the father?"

"We don't know yet. As soon as I know, I'll come tell you guys."

"If you're not the father, then who is?"

Drake shrugged. "You should tell me. You've kept better track of her social life than I have. Anyway, I have to get back." He stepped back on the elevator. "Try not to blind too many innocent people with those flashes."

--  
An hour later, Drake finally found Melody in a waiting room on the fourth floor, two floors up from the maternity wing. He sat down and handed her a snack cake that he got from a vending machine. "I know it's not a real birthday cake but..."

Melody chuckled and glanced at the clock. "Thanks, but it's not my birthday anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's fine."

"I'll make it up to you," Drake offered.

Melody sighed. "You don't have to."

Drake put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm really proud of you. You didn't have to stay."

"I did it for you."

That's all Drake needed to hear to remind him of the ring in his pocket. He got down on one knee in front of Melody.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I wanted to do this earlier but...well, this happened." He took Melody's hands. "I love you and nothing in this world can change that. Even though we'll have to adjust to the results of that test, I am always going to love you more than anything else and..." He held out the ring. "Marry me?"

Melody smiled. "You're really asking me to marry you?"

"I'm _really_ asking you. Please, will you marry me?"

"Of course! Yes!" Melody kissed Drake. "Yes."

Drake let out a sigh of relief as he slipped the ring on Melody's finger. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Drake sat next to Melody and put his arm around her. "Josh is going to think I was trying to top his weird proposal story."

Melody laughed. "Sorry, honey. I think he still wins that one. Though, I guess it depends on the results of the test."

Their laughter was interrupted by a doctor standing at the door. "Mr. Parker?"

Drake stood up. "Yes?"

"I have the results."

--  
Katie looked up when Drake knocked on the door.

"I named him Parker Winters," she said, looking down at the baby she was cradling.

Drake hesitantly entered the room. Katie looked so natural holding the baby. He couldn't help but wonder how much motherhood would change her.

"I'm not the father." He almost couldn't believe the words. All these months he worried about this and it was all for nothing.

"I know... I just got attached to the name Parker when I was going through names. I couldn't bring myself to let it go." Katie sighed. "I guess I'm going to have to call my manager, Joel, and tell him he's a dad now."

"Why did you keep insisting that I was the father?"

"Because I thought you wouldn't question it and just marry me." Katie finally looked at Drake with a hint of a smile on her face. "I guess I didn't have you as whipped as I thought I did."

Drake felt a flash of anger. She sounded so nonchalant about it, as if all the pain she put him through didn't matter at all.

"Hey, that was almost a compliment. So, wipe that 'I can't believe you just said that' look off your face."

Drake shook his head. "I'm starting to feel bad for the baby and he isn't even a day old."

Katie laughed. "The way I see it, the first year is just a practice year so I have some time before he's able to understand what I'm saying. I'll pretend I'm a nice person when he learns to talk."

"You're not much of an actress. You pretending to be nice is scarier than when you're mean."

"I can't believe you're being mean to me in front of my son," Katie said lightly. She shook her head. "Five years with me and you were such a pushover, but a few months with that girl and you grow a backbone. What'd she do to you?"

"She gave me an opportunity to be what I always wanted to be. She makes me happy."

"That's disgustingly sweet. Now get out of here. I'm sure you're eager to tell everyone that you're not the father and make me look bad."

"I can tell them that the results aren't in yet and let you talk to the press about it."

Katie rolled her eyes. "You never learn. I'll end up saying that you're not the father but you're willing to raise the baby as yours."

"Do you ever tell the truth?"

"What truth? I still maintain you'll come back to me eventually."

"I wouldn't hold my breath on that one." Drake paused in the doorway. "I don't think I told you 'congratulations'. He really is a beautiful kid."

Katie smiled and looked down at Parker. "Yeah, I should have known he wasn't yours right away. He looks nothing like you. He's way too handsome."

Drake laughed. "Goodnight, Katie."

"Drake, wait."

Drake stepped back into the room.

"Tell what's her name I'm sort of thankful that she was here. God knows you were useless. I mean, was an alien comment really necessary while I was trying to deliver the baby?"

"Seriously, Katie. He wasn't so handsome when he was coming out. It was like..."

"No, don't go into it. I just wanted to say... thanks." She looked mildly uncomfortable about showing gratitude, but it quickly faded into a serious expression. "You can call me whenever you break up with her."

Drake almost told her he and Melody were engaged, but he figured she would just tell the press. He wanted to keep it a secret just a little longer. "Goodnight, Katie."

Drake left the room feeling like a weight had been lifted off him. For the first time since he was eighteen, he felt like he had his whole life ahead of him. The only difference was, this time he knew who he wanted to spend his life with.

**

* * *

**************************************************************

A/N-

Only one more chapter left! Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far! Please keep reviewing. It always makes me day! 

* * *


	28. Chapter 28

**Two days before Thanksgiving, one year later:**

"Babe, my parents are going to be here any minute and I can't find..." Drake's sentence died when he entered the bedroom. Melody was sitting on the bed with her hand resting on her stomach and she looked like she was focused on something.

Drake recognized the look immediately and sat beside her. He gently put his hand on her stomach and waited. Soon, he felt a little movement. He moved his hand and felt it again. He took Melody's hand and placed it where his hand had been.

"Baby one is there," he said softly before moving her hand. "Baby two is there."

A small smile finally formed on Melody's face. "How come they're inside me, but you can find them faster?"

Drake laughed lightly and kissed her cheek. "Because I'm their dad."

Melody finally let her hand slide off her stomach. She had to check to make sure the babies were moving at least a couple times a day. Drake could understand her fear and was patient when she got distracted by the babies moving.

"So, what were you looking for?" Melody asked.

"I don't remember," Drake admitted. Whatever it was, it wasn't nearly as important as his wife and his unborn twins.

--  
"Wow, this place is quite impressive," Walter said, looking around the new house.

"Thanks. I'm just glad we got everything set up before you guys got here. We were still unpacking boxes yesterday," Drake said.

" 'We'? I thought the girls were supposed to be resting," Audrey said.

"I mean 'we' as in Josh and me."

Josh scoffed. "Like you helped. All you did was sit around and give orders."

"I did stuff."

"Yeah, if 'stuff' includes organizing your guitars!"

"So, where are the girls?" Audrey interrupted.

"Megan took Emily out back to play. I think Mindy and Melody are out there, too," Josh said.  
"Oh my goodness, look how big you guys got!" Audrey exclaimed when she got out back.

"Gee, thanks," Mindy said with a smile. Mindy was a week past her due date. "At least I'm not as big as Melody, though."

Melody pretended to look offended. "At least I have an excuse, I'm carrying two!"

Mindy laughed and patted her stomach. "Yeah, I'm going to have a ten pound baby if this kid doesn't come out soon. You'll probably have the twins before I have mine."

Melody was just starting her eighth month of pregnancy. She looked worried. "I know the doctor said they could come any day now, but I don't think I'm ready for them to come out yet."

"Trust me, you'll be ready when it happens," Audrey said reassuringly.

"Mama!" Emily squealed, running over and hugging Audrey.

Audrey picked her up. "Wow, you're getting big, too."

"Papa!" Emily shouted, seeing Walter.

"Hey, Emily," Walter said, taking the toddler from Audrey. "Whoa! You guys look like you're going to pop any day now," he said when he saw Mindy and Melody.

"Nice move, Dad. Now tell them they look fat, that'll make them feel better," Megan joked.

"Sorry, well, I have to go get the stuff out of the car..." Walter said, making his escape back inside.

--  
"Melody, go sit down. I can do it," Drake said.

Melody put ice in the glass and started to pour soda into it. "You never get the right soda to ice ratio," she complained.

This was the one part of pregnancy Drake could do without. Melody was never picky about her soda before this. "Fine! You have your drink. Let me get everyone else's."

Melody took a sip of her soda and made a face. "Whatever. I don't want this anymore." She only got a couple of steps before she said, "Drake?"

Drake sighed. "What is it?" He walked over and saw Melody staring at a small puddle on the floor. "Don't worry about it. I'll clean it up." He was reaching for the paper towels when he paused. What exactly did she spill?

"Can I help with anything?" Audrey asked, coming into the kitchen. She saw Melody staring at the floor and Drake's confused look. "Oh, Melody! Your water broke! Come on, let's get you to the hospital." She took Melody's hand and led her to the living room.

"What do you mean it 'broke'? Is that bad? Can they fix that?" Drake asked, following them.

"It means the babies are coming. This is why I told you to read the baby books!" Melody said.  
"I tried to but the babies would have been born before I finished the book."

"Kids, this is not the time to argue," Audrey said gently.

--  
"Does it hurt?" Drake asked for the hundredth time.

"I'm starting to think that you want me to be in pain," Melody said lightly. She was in a much better mood now that they were set up in the hospital room and the doctor assured them that the babies were doing well.

"No. I don't want that. It's just the machine keeps showing the contractions and I thought they were supposed to hurt."

Melody shrugged. "It feels kinda weird. It doesn't really hurt."

"What did the doctor say?" Walter asked, suddenly bursting into the room. He was followed by the rest of the family.

Drake looked confused by Walter's dramatic entrance. "He said it's going to be a while."

"Dad rushed all the way here because he thought they were going to be born immediately," Josh said.

"Well, this is important."

"It's okay. I have my camera," Megan said.

Drake stood up. "The only way you're going to tape anything is if you promise not to sell it to anyone."

Megan rolled her eyes. "Give me a little credit. I'm not going to exploit your children."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll even sign the same contract Josh made me sign when Emily was born."

"Ow!" Melody yelped. "I think it's starting to hurt now."

--  
Drake looked down at the two smallest babies he had ever seen. "She has your nose," he said softly to Melody.

Melody chuckled. "He has your ears."

There was a knock at the door. "Are you feeling up to visitors?" Audrey asked, peeking into the room.

"Of course! Come meet you're grandchildren!" Melody said. "Tell everyone to get in here."

Drake stood up. He handed his daughter to Audrey. "This is Elizabeth Audrey Parker." He picked up his son and handed him to Walter. "And this is Joseph Walter Parker."

"Wow, they're..." Audrey started.

"Perfect," Walter finished.

"They're so tiny!" Megan exclaimed. Megan picked Emily up so she could get a better look.

"Babies!" she giggled.

"Where're Josh and Mindy?" Melody asked.

Walter laughed. "She went into labour just after Drake told us you had the twins."

--  
"Copycat," Melody said when Drake wheeled her into Mindy's room.

Mindy smiled. "Don't start. I got pregnant first so you're the copy cat."

Emily was sitting at the foot of Mindy's bed. "My baby!" she said proudly, pointing at her little brother.

"Yeah, are you a big sister?" Drake asked.

Emily nodded. "I'm very big."

Megan appeared at the door. "Ready to go home, kiddo?"

Emily shook her head. "No." She yawned.

"Yes." Megan picked her up. "The babies will be home tomorrow."

"Okay." Emily waved at everyone. "Bye. Bye."

"I'll see you guys in the morning," Megan said.

Mindy pointed to the baby Melody was holding. "So, where's the other baby? Did you lose her already?"

Drake laughed. "No, Mom and Dad are busy being proud grandparents."

"I heard that!" Audrey said as she and Walter came into the room. She handed Elizabeth to Drake. "Next time you need to spread them out. I don't have enough arms for three newborns."

She turned and tried to take Josh Junior from Walter.

Walter laughed. "No, you're baby-obsessed. Let the kids bond with the babies," he said, handing the baby to Josh.

--  
Melody yawned as she settled back into bed.

"Tired, babe?" Drake asked.

Melody nodded. "I'm exhausted, but happy. Are the babies okay?"

"Yeah, they're sleeping. My parents are telling everyone who goes by the nursery about their three perfect grandchildren."

"What did you tell the press?"

"Nothing. Megan talked to them before she took Emily home."

"That was nice of her."

Drake laughed. "She spent most of the time talking about the new movie. She's not entirely selfless."

"What about...?"

Drake kissed her. "Stop worrying. All that matters is that we are the proud parents of two beautiful babies."

"How did I get so lucky?"

Drake kissed her again. "I'm really the lucky one."

* * *

**A/N: So, that's the end. I hope you enjoyed it! I have to thank GatorGrrrl for being the best Beta I could ask for. Also, letsnotalk for being my first loyal reader on this story. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their favourites list. I appreciate it so much. **


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